Vanakkam! My name is Thorben Roth and I am a volunteer from Germany, and I came this year, in April, to India. I am doing a social service, which will last 11 months and I came with a group of people, who are also doing the same. My organisation is AFS-Germany, but the partner organisation which is the organization I am working with is FSL-India, located in India.

My project in which I am working is a school for special children, run by Arvind Foundation: a school for disabled children. I must mention that the school is managed by a group of people who are also managing 3 more schools around Chennai.The school is located near Poonamallee, which is a suburb of Chennai. From Poonamallee, it will take around 15 minutes by shared auto to reach the village Kolapancheri, where the school is located. The school is surrounded by a beautiful landscape which contains rice fields, lakes and colourful houses, with a lot of space between them.

My project in which I am working is a school for special children, run by Arvind Foundation: a school for disabled children. I must mention that the school is managed by a group of people who are also managing 3 more schools around Chennai.The school is located near Poonamallee, which is a suburb of Chennai. From Poonamallee, it will take around 15 minutes by shared auto to reach the village Kolapancheri, where the school is located. The school is surrounded by a beautiful landscape which contains rice fields, lakes and colourful houses, with a lot of space between them.

Actually, my village is very familiar and everybody knows everybody. First, it was very strange for the people to see somebody like me. But after some weeks, they got used to it the same way as I had to get used to everything at first. Since that time, it always feels like coming home when I enter my village, by getting dropped with the shared auto by one of the funny and just enjoyable drivers with whom I always like to have a chat or a tea.

Everywhere in the village, or in the city nearby, I have my small spots where I like to go to have some snacks, just talk to the people, improving my Tamil skills, having a tea, or just buy something at a shop.

By the way, my favorite snack is mushroom masala, and there is one man in Poonamallee who is preparing the best in the whole of India. I swear that because I tried nearly all of them. He is just making it for me every time when I cross the street without asking. Then, he is telling me to come and that the best snack in the world is ready. That guy always knows when I need his snack, and even when we don’t speak very much because of the language barrier, he became a friend of mine, and he is just making me happy. Like many others, he is showing me infinite concern and the infinite familiar relation between the people in an inner environment.

Of course, I am drawing more attention than an Indian boy, or man of my age, but I can feel how I am accepted by the people and how much they are accepting themselves. Especially, in my surroundings, I could explore that the people are just acting out of their heart. The actions they are doing are mostly not because I am a foreigner, I have seen it many times that they are also doing things like inviting somebody for lunch, or tea, or just showing him the family album to each other. Getting to know so many lovely people during my time in India fulfills me with satisfaction and happiness and within that fact, I am realising what a big part of the society I became. In my work, I am feeling the same since the beginning.

Our school is a very beautiful and huge building. I stay in the school itself, with a host family next to my room. Security, or just the fact that I know that they would stand behind me whatever will happen, makes me feel that they are my second, Indian family.

In general, it is possible to divide the school into the back side of the school, where students aren’t allowed to be, and the front part of the school, where you can find the classrooms, and generally rooms which are used for everyday school life.There are 3 official classrooms which are separated by the disability of the student, and their age. The first classroom with the youngest students is the sensory- group, the second one is the educational- group and the third one is the vocational-group.

An important fact is that the age of some students is higher than at normal schools, so that they can be up to 25 years. Those older students will be in the vocational class and the main idea of the school is to integrate young adults into society. There are also “normal” lessons as we would know it in regular schools, but the activities and lessons are generally very practical, to teach the students something usefully after they go off from school.

There are around 30 students, and we are 4 teachers, including me. Additionally, there are a few drivers which pick up or bring back the students in a school van before and after school. Furthermore, there are 2 sisters who are mainly taking care of snacks for the students, tea or cleaning and just caring about everything the teachers have no time for, or for what they are not responsible. Every Tuesday and Thursday, one vocational trainer visits, who is teaching the students basic things like computer lesson, or woodwork, together with me.

I am mainly responsible for the vocational group that means that a normal school day starts with the main lesson. Mathematics, English, computers or just any actual topic is being taught, just to give the students something basic, but sustainable in their life. In the main lesson, I am supporting the students however it is possible. Because of the fact that the students all have different disabilities, they know how to communicate to each other without many words, and they are way more talented in explaining and understanding something that the opposite tries to commit. But of course, it got a lot easier for me to understand and to talk to students or staff by learning some Tamil.

That’s why I am able to explain to them simple math tasks, English or Tamil also. Within the time I could get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the students very well, and I knew more and more where to help and teach. The class teacher of the vocational group is explaining the subject to the students and I am clarifying it by some additions and mainly by solving the tasks, together with the students. To the question how my work schedule in my project is, I am usually answering, “Everyday it is different.” Because of that, I will point out the main activities I am doing in my school now, and what experience or improvement for the students I can gain through it.

My main activities or lessons that I am performing are woodwork, computer and English lessons, and drums/music lessons. Furthermore, there are many activities like preparing for festivals, making plates out of banana leaves with a special machine, dancing, making candles, making incense sticks, cutting clothes and recycling them, making friendship bracelets for the students’ families (which ideas I got out of a book from Germany), gym and outdoor activities, gardening, cooking, etc.

In woodwork, we are doing small keychains, or products like spoons out of coconuts, or small houses for birds. For me, the main achievement is/was that every student is able to make their own keychain from cutting the wood, up to applying wood polish and sticking a steel strap on it. I am trying out new designs and ideas with the students, and we are just working on it together.

In English, I am teaching them basics like conversations, or also to learn the time, directions or just numbers, or weekdays. Everything is on a basic level and depends from student to student. But I am trying to teach something very basic and useful, practical and also interesting. In computers, I am following also just basics and adapting my lessons to each and every student. Drums, or music lessons mainly contain individual time with one student, which will end up in one song or rhythm with the whole school. My principles are always to be patient, to be creative and never force them to learn something. Their interest will show you exactly what they want to learn. That is something I really could learn: disabled people bring more passion in something they like, than most Indians have for cricket.

In all activities, we are a team. Everything is so familiar in the school and the students, the teachers or anybody else is behaving like this. We are helping each other in every way, the students know how to communicate to each other, although some of them can’t speak or hear properly. Every time somebody needs help, he or she will ask somebody to help, and she will get help. It is like a big family, and each person has the feeling to be accommodated by the others.

Even if I really have many aims and plans to achieve with my lessons, I know that in my school something very accurate and important happens. The disabled children are part of the school like they are going to be a part of the society, they get accepted how they are, they are making jokes, we are making jokes. They don’t take everything too seriously, we play with them, or just laugh with them.

Admittedly, they are making us angry or each other angry in some moments, but we consider each one of us like our own. Like our friends, family, beloved people, or just people to have a chat, or to work with. Whatever. Disabled children or disabled adults are a part of the society like everybody else. And I can feel that in my project there is something which is very unique in India, and it might be unique at every other place in the world, too.