Happy School

So a bit about the school at which I'm volunteering.

We were supposed to be situated in an orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children in the outskirts of Delhi - about 45km outside - but Rajan decided for some reason that we'd be better off in the middle of the city at the school run by volunteers, and for students who can't afford public school.

So instead we're staying with Rajan in quite comfortable accomodations - I mean, yeah, we had to give up the luxuries of the orphanage such as squat toilets, no electricity, no running water, no clean water, lentil soup, lentil soup and more lentil soup, but I supposed we'll manage here.

We teach from 8am until 1pm, including a short break and a small bowl of lunch. Today, my first day, we taught them volleyball, which none of them had ever played, seen or heard of before. And then we moved on to English lessons where I basically tried to gauge what level they are at.

The school is called The Happy School and is run entirely by volunteers. The story behind it is quite incredible.

It was started by the principal Kamil Capoor on her front lawn with only 5 students from her neighbourhood. It quickly began to grow as more students showed up in her classes and people began to offer their assistance and to volunteer time. Eventually it moved to the road, and then a small building nearby until it finally grew to the small school that it is now.

All of the teachers are volunteers, all the food is donated, all of the books, computers, playground equipment, and even the school itself was technically a donation.

You can check out the website, http://www.thehappyschool.in/ and feel free to donate in any way you can. Trust me, they can always use the help and this way you know where it's gonna go.