Library

Our first project at the school was to set up the library. When we arrived here, the library was a storage room and there was no space for the kids to read their books. We wanted to create a nice room where the children could read and relax during breaks and after school. 

Taking out all the garbage and useless things took us a lot of time. We cleaned the entire room and took out all of the unused furniture and trash. We also cleaned a carpet, which is now used for the reading corner. 

To keep the library tidy like it is right now, we set up some rules that the kids have to follow. 

The kids love the library. Every time we open it, the kids want to get new books to take them home or to the hostel. During school time, every class has a weekly library hour. During this time, each child chooses a book and reads quietly. We also read together with the children and help them understand the content of the books. 

Our first impressions and experiences

It has been a week since we arrived at Nav Jeevan Sanstha School in Nagpur. Coincidentally the five of us arrived on the same day, which was a surprise to all of us. Four of us (Alice, Franzi, Nina and Pascale) reside at the school, while Pritika comes in the morning with the school bus. Our first days at Nav Jeevan were a pleasant surprise to us as we were warmly welcome by the staff and children here. We were introduced to the school and got to know the day to day workings of it. As the week progressed, we immediately noticed that there was room for many projects within the school. 

So far, we have:

- cleaned and established the library,

- overtaken the library hours,

- created ornaments with the children,

- helped out during English lessons

We are looking forward to the upcoming weeks and the exciting work to come!

About Nav-Jeevan Sanstha School

Nav-Jeevan Sanstha gives slum children and orphans the opportunity to a new life by offering education, shelter, meals and medical care. Slum children are children who's parents are beggars. These children are therefore put on the streets to beg. For their parents, this is a source of income so that the children not attending school are doomed to a life begging on the streets. Nav-Jeevan Santhsa school has convinced some of these families to attend their school and earn a better quality of life.

Nav-Jeevan Sanstha School was founded by Mrs. I.S,Wilkinson from Nagpur India and Ms. Annelies van de Ven from the Netherlands. The idea of the school was born in 1980 when Mrs. Wilikson, a high school teacher by profession, managed an orphanage in Nagpur. Annelies adopted two little girls from this orphanage, and when her daughters grew up, Annelies asked Mrs. Wilkinson what she could do for Nagpur in return for giving her two beautiful children. Iris had always felt very strongly that the section of Indian society most in need of help were slum and street children. While an institution that takes care of the orphans exists, slum children, by virtue of having parents, are not considered society’s responsibility and are doomed to live a life in abject poverty and ignorance just like their parents.

While Mrs. Wilkinson registered Nav-Jeevan Sanstha in Nagpur in 2003, Annelies simultaneously launched Stichting Nav-Jeevan in Holland as a non-profit organisation. Stitching Nav-Jeevan raises funds by giving information and lecturers and still is the main sponsor for the work carried on by Nav-Jeevan Sanstha (NJS).

Why are we writing this blog?

Today NJS has 220 students and is housed in a beautiful building with all modern amenities thanks to the efforts of its Dutch partner. The 22 local teachers are supported by international volunteers- currently by us. We're 5 girls from Germany, The Netherlands and Dubai and have been here for a week now. One of us is going to stay for one month, two of us for 6 weeks and the other two for 6 months. In this blog, we would like to tell you about our experiences here in the "orange capital" of India, Nagpur, and invite you to read it, tell your friends about it and donate if you want the school to be able to keep up the great work that it is doing here.