Saphara teams give young people the opportunity to engage in issues of justice and global citizenship through working with educationally disadvantaged children in India. Saphara is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organisation which welcomes young people from all backgrounds, races and religions.

It only takes one person to make a difference and a group to keep it growing in love. Jenny P
Day Six 28th July 2010
Posted in Belfast Team 2010, Trip Blog

Today was our 3rd day teaching at Kaplani High School (which has to be the school with the world’s most breathtaking view!) We got up earlier than yesterday so that we could see the school assembly. After a filling breakfast of cereal, banana and toast, along with some monkey encounters, we set off for the school. Arriving at Kaplani we saw the pupils standing in rows and saying prayers and singing songs in unison as well as stretching. We all felt this was a great way to set everyone up for the day ahead. Lessons (which were based today around the sense of smell) then began. We were able to teach the pupils vocabulary by using techniques such as a smell table where pupils had to guess the scent and by creating flowers that smelt. After a short break we continued. All the groups were delighted with the improvement in our classes’ spoken English. Their enthusiasm and commitment continues to amaze. The enjoyment that they get from the lessons makes the lesson planning more than worthwhile. Today we made an effort to set the bar as high as possible in terms of the English we are teaching, by detailing the parts of a plant. The pupils were able to learn and remember all the parts without any trouble. During lunchtime, the girls learnt Indian dances and taught some Irish dancing as well, whilst the boys played an extremely competitive game of football in the bright sunshine. The score is still in dispute! After lunch Peter gave a performance of magic, earning himself the nickname ‘Jadoo’ (Magic Man) in the process. Sport lessons were a great way to build relationships with our classes by having fun together.

We then had some free time with the children who taught some of the group how to write their names in Hindi. Then the school day was over and we got taxis back to Woodstock, seeing a lemur on the way. After a spot of lunch and an introduction to lesson planning, we headed out on a short hike, which was a good way to see around us. We then had dinner (pizza and chocolate mousse) and after finishing off lesson planning we’re going to watch Gandhi the movie. Hello to everyone! Ben + Peter