Day 4 - Visits to the Villages and Education Department

Day 4 - Visits to the Villages and Education Department

After a day of exhaustion, today we visited two villages of three of our Bullis EGG Fellows (Lilawati, Jaymanti, and Neelam.).  It was an eye- opening experience to hear the exact problem that these people want to fix in the education system in India. We also went to the Education Department where we got to discuss the true problems of India’s education and why some families don’t send their kids to school.  It has been so far my favorite day because I was able to interact with many different people.

~Will F.

Yesterday’s adventure began with us waking up to a fresh, cultural breakfast buffet. After finishing our meals, we loaded the bus and headed to the first village on our itinerary. The name of the village was Bigwada, and when we arrived we were greeted by youthful smiles and a friendly environment. As we walked through the village and eventually sat down with some of the villagers, we were able to interact with many of the students, and listen to the parents’ opinions on education and economical issues in the area. After giving their introductions, we talked about how much faith we had in them, and how proud we were of how they were standing up for what they believed in. Finally, we ended our visit by taking some selfies.

We then headed to the local Education Department office to discuss what is being done in the Rudrapur area in terms of girls’ education. A representative from the office spoke about the challenges they face and what actions they are taking to better the lives and education of the girls. He spoke about the work that EGG has done with the Girls’ Parliaments in the villages.  After our informative meeting we returned to the hotel and enjoyed a traditional Indian lunch.

Afterward we went to our second village (Malsi). We met with one of our fellows, Jaymanti. While at the village we interacted with the children sharing our names and talking about their favorite subjects in school. Parents discussed the issues they have been facing regarding access to their children’s education. We also traded songs with the children including the ABCs and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Taylor and Tamia were also able to break away from the group and interview members of the village. The villagers spoke about their issues with school system including how the schools doesn’t allow boys to attend and while a lot of the parents attended school it did not benefit them. We departed the village with a warm goodbye from the villagers.

We ended the day with a traditional  dinner and celebrating Ian’s 16th Birthday. Happy birthday Ian!

Overall, the day was enlightening and moving, we are so excited for the rest of adventure!

~Nora and Hannah

Here is a shot of our group in Bigwada, as well as some close ups courtesy of Hannah.  After the trip, we will work with EGG to share our photographs and videos to be used to raise awareness and support the work they do.