Participation in different forums

Students interaction on ‘right to education Girl’s education lets talk’ was organised by Centre for Advocacy and Research and UNICEF. There were 50 participants in the programme from all parts of India and four of PPGVS students were amongst them. Chief guest for the programme was Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director UNICEF.

20 students and two teachers participated in People’s summit against poverty. Action Aid and United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal organized it. There were 15000 participants in the programme. Students actively participated in many of the discussions on poverty, child rights, gender, education etc.

Visit to Delhi

Group of class tenth students went to Delhi for a fun cum educational tour. They visited historical monuments like Lal Quilla, Qutub Minar. They had a ride on a Metro train and also visited Malls in Gurgaon

Visit to Andaman Island

After Tsunami students PPES decided to show solidarity with the victims and hence the PPGVS students and teachers collected sum of Rs. 15000.  For the collection donation slips were made and students went house-to-house for collection of money.  They decided to give this money to Action Aid (UK based International Charity). Action aid recognized these efforts and invited a group of ten students and two teachers to Andaman Island.

Pardada Pardadi School had an important announcement to make in the month of November in 2005. All students were asked to gather in the assembly hall to be told that a trip to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been arranged for 10 students who had the maximum attendance. ActionAid sponsored this and the students were given the unique opportunity to travel by all modes of transport-road, rail and air. The selected students got 15 days to prepare themselves for the journey.

It was 12 noon on 29th November and the students gathered to start off the journey. They reached New Delhi station by evening and got some time to freshen up before boarding the train at 10.30 pm. The journey was a memorable one for the students as most of them were traveling for the first time. The train reached Chennai on 1st December and Action aid had arranged a warm welcome for the students and the staff. The visitors were taken to the guesthouse were they were asked to get ready by 2am to leave for Mahabalipuram. Crocodile and the snake park was the first stop over en route Mahabalipuram. The students freaked out to see thousands of crocodiles and snakes. On reaching Mahabalipuram the students were taken to visit The Shore temple and the sea beach around. It was a unique experience for all the students. The officials did not allow the students to go to the sea because of bad weather. They had to be satisfied by standing away from the sea. The students were brought back to Chennai by evening and were taken to the Gandhi Beach for and hour where they enjoyed themselves before being taken back to the Guest House. They had a flight to catch in the morning of December 2nd.

This was a big day for all the students. Flying- they never dared to dream. As soon as they reached the airport they were frisked for security check and was on board the Jet Airways to Port Blair, capital city of The Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Their joy knew n bounds when the plane zoomed in to the sky and they were air borne for the first time in their life. Photographs were taken inside the plane along with the airhostesses after being served lunch and sweets. The pilot agreed to show the cockpit to the students, on request.

Miss Anupama from Action aid was there at the airport to welcome the team. The students went to The Cellular Jail to watch the Light and Sound show which talked about the history of the jail and how the story of the freedom fighters.

December 3rd was “World Disabled Day” and it was to be observed in a different way. The Dept of Social Welfare at the Subhash Chandra Bose auditorium arranged a small function for the disabled people. Almost 1000 people gathered there to take part in different activities. The girls from Pardada Pardadi School were also a part of the Cultural Programmes. A cheque of Rs 15000/- was presented on behalf of the school to The Disabled people at the end of the ceremony. The next day the students visited The Rose Island, which was home to the British Officers during their rule. They spent an entire day at the island.

Andamans were recently affected by the Tsunami, which left people homeless. The students were taken to the affected areas and were shown the consequences of this major calamity. They spoke to the local people and the villagers about their experiences and were also shown the relief work that has been taking place by different organizations.

After spending about six days in Port Blair, it was time to pack up. The girls had a good time during these days. They also shopped from different places for their friends back in Anupshahar. On 7th of December the students were put on a flight back to Chennai from where they boarded the train to Delhi, at night. The entire team reached Delhi on 9th morning, safely. The girls keep talking about the trip and their experience even to this day. What an experience!

Criteria for selection of a student for the trip to Andamans were attendance in the school, her performance in the school, helping spirit, value base and leadership.

This trip had a major impact on the lives of the students. Most of the students who went for this trip were from disadvantaged communities. Trip to Andamans has helped in developing self-confidence and self-esteem in students and their families. It has also helped in elevating the status of the their families in the community.

Nainital Visit

Ten students and one teacher went to Nainital for an adventure camp from 12-20 June 2006. Youth Reach and Sri Aurobindo Educational Society sponsored this trip.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram coordinated camp activities. Philosophy behind this camp is to develop self confidence, self discipline, team and adventure spirit in the students..

As a part of the camp students were taught meditation and yoga. They also did rock climbing, river crossing, rappelling and trekking in the beautiful hills of Nainital in Uttaranchal District. Students enjoyed their trip a lot. Being on a hill station was a memorable experience for them.