So what comes to our minds when we think of an Indian wedding? Marigold garlands, the bride’s wedding trousseau in the color vermilion, the groom riding a horse carriage, loud Bollywood music…. and sacred revolutions around the fire to name a few.

This and more is all that attracted Sarah and Lorenzo to have an Indian wedding at the PPES on 12 Nov 2010. What started it off was both Sarah and Lorenzo’s commitment and dedication to the PPES work. Based in the UK, the couple has been volunteering with PPES since 2009. Sarah works with the non-profit iPartner India and Lorenzo works in DNV as a management consultant. The couple first had a Christian wedding in Knokke (Belgium) on Nov 6.


Eager to share their happiest day with the PPES, they decided on putting up an Indian wedding at the PPES.PPES’ old time volunteer Mr. Krishan Kumar Mehra and his wife Mrs. Rekha Mehra played the part of groom’s parents on the day. The holy ‘Kanyadaan’ (where the bride’s parents commit to giving their daughter to the groom) was acted on by Sam (Founder President of PPES) and volunteer Judith Hunger on Sarah’s part. The wedding hosted the 1100 PPES students and its staff who played every bit of a loud Indian guest. And, where the brouhaha seemed a little fazed off to that of a typical Indian wedding’s, the local band with its drum and trumpet followed in.


Moments like these, take what PPES means for its friends to another level altogether. Sarah and Lorenzo’s was not just any ordinary Indian wedding but one that celebrated every small and big moment of joy with the PPES girls. The wedding was a show of love for PPES- all the way from the PPES embroidered return gifts that were presented to the wedding guests by the couple, to a donation of 7000 GPB towards the PPES scholarship fund that the couple raised by requesting their wedding guests to gifting a donation on PPES’ name. They are also adding on 2000 GPB to the amount as a personal donation.


If one talks of ‘wedding for a cause’, Sarah and Lorenzo’s would remain the epitome of it all.PPES has stashed away the lovely moments of the day forever in its memory. Here’s wishing a happy married life to both Sarah and Lorenzo.

Melanie Closs, a theatre artist by profession, is an American who is globetrotting & exploring the themes of cultural understanding & displaying them through creative media. She spent a full month of June developing and honing the theatrical skills of the girls at Pardada Pardadi. On her first ever visit to India, she has so much to share:

“Rural India is the twilight of a sunset, a lavendar and periwinkle blanket that covers the world in a hum and a smell of an open fire and the taste of the spiced chai, the peacocks meowing and the ticking of generators, motorbikes, and crickets, a distant wedding blasting Indian Bollywood love songs and fireworks.

Day one of my drama class begun with meeting the teachers, understanding the way of the village life, getting my stomach used to the food, drenching myself in bug repellent every night with no apparent effect, visiting homes of teachers & students in the villages, feeling lost and frustrated with my drama class, but finally finding a way to have the kids think of their own stories around one simple “other” tableaux that finally brought a possible show into light, and attending a village wedding.

We bonded with classes on yoga, Bob Dylan, and American culture. I learned more about arranged marriages and love marriages from open English conversations with the teachers.

My drama team, all rehearsed by now, put up their two performances- one in the school and one in the street of a village.

Exploring the country and having explored a part of the village life by now, the city life and the urban modern culture of the capital city Delhi came as a shock. Wow.. what a huge difference!

One of the interesting getaways of my one month was the Pardada Pardadi teachers’ vacation trip to the hills of Dehradun, Mussouri,and Rishikesh. During this trip, I developed more of an obsession with the blaring gender inequalities of the culture. The men on the bus could blast music, dance around, make loud noises and take up all the seats, while the women were squished together trying to sleep, making no efforts to quiet the men.

China, Thailand, Japan- yes, these places were entirely different culturally than what I’m used to. It was fun and interesting to explore competency in these cultures. Rural India- I had the hardest time. My morals, my iceberg (the part of one's culture that each person has deep beneath the surface that defines who we are)- for the first time- did not allow for me to want to gain competency with their iceberg morals: The gender inequality, the accepted idea that 'girls do not ever think for themselves & men get away with anything.'

There is no freedom of love or opinions. Here, I am at a school that is trying to change that.

The goodbyes were teary and full of many jeweled and Indian gifts. I think I now own 10 rings, 2 bracelets, and 3 necklaces from PPES girls.

The favorite part of my volunteer experience has been getting to know many of the students and teachers from the Anupshahar area.

They come to school to learn, to make friends, to chase each other around the school’s campus, and to escape the harsh reality that is their everyday lives. The students are really intelligent, but they just need to be given a chance to develop their intellectual capacities.

I can tell they are fascinated by digital cameras and laptop computers and express curiosity over my style of dress or the color of my hair. I think I’ve learned just as much from these students as they’ve learned from me. I’ve learned about their families, their villages, what sports they like, and even some basic Hindi phrases.

Some of these students can crush a softball or cricket ball, and I've had a few close calls with nearly having my head taken off! If anything, I’ve learned how much entertainment you can provide by just being here and being in the presence of these kids.

What was really eye opening to me is that for every student PPES educates, there are probably 10 kids in the area that aren’t so fortunate.

I visited some of the surrounding villages during the day, and there are groups of kids running around the fields or through the streets instead of being in school. They all come out to see the Western visitor…first it’s a group of 5 to 10 but before you know it there are 25 or 30 kids following you through the streets, and the number just grows.

I told myself that in the states all these kids would be in elementary or pre-K schools. However, what’s even more striking is the hospitality from many of these villagers. Sure, many live on less than $2 a day, but they want you to come see their homes, their cows, have tea, and engage them in some form of communication.

In fact, the first village experience I had involved getting a bit too close to a buffalo, as in 6 inches from its face. I didn’t expect to turn a corner and walk head-first into a grazing buffalo.

At the school, I wrote and taught a class to the students on banking, providing a high overview of why we have banks and how they function.

This was essential for students to understand since they will be graduating with 30,000 rupees in a fixed deposit account. I alsohelped teach a few English classes as well as directed games class while the usual teacher was on leave for exams.

I’ve really enjoyed my experience here, and I hope to stay involved as much as possible upon my return to Boston. There’s so much potential to grow this organization and so many great ideas that are floating around, such as a micro-lending program. I encourage everyone to get involved, become a volunteer, sponsor one of our students, or donate to any of our initiatives.

Kevin Dziubek is a Management Consultant at the L.E.K Consulting in Boston, U.S.A. He volunteered with PPES from March-April 2010.

Aashish volunteered with PPES in October 2009. After two weeks, his eyes and gigantic smile were the proof that he enjoyed his time at the school! We asked him to write about his experience. Here is the e-mail he sent us:



<< Volunteering was something I had been thinking about for a while but somehow never got around to doing it – there were always excuses of long working hours, not finding enough time etc. However, I knew I unless I took a week or two off work I wouldn’t be able to start and get involved. I had been researching about the volunteering programmes for a while and heard about PPES in India through a friend of mine and about Sam Singh who had started this education program.

First port of call was to “google” Sam and PPES. Endless articles flooded the page and I got to read more about Sam and the wonderful project he had started for the girls in Bichola village. That was it – I had decided that this is what I wanted to do and meet this inspirational human being who was putting so much effort into the cause.



Having never seen village life in India, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect! I met Sam Renuka And Shanti ji in Bichola. We visited the school on Sunday when it was closed! Stepping into the school when it was packed with more than 900 school kids was a different experience altogether. The school was alive and kicking, it was full of life! I met with all the teachers who were very friendly and very accommodating with my questions and introductions! It was like being a part of the family. Some school kids giggled, some smiled, some shied away but all of them had one thing in common – they were all smiling, proud to be attending school with books in their hands! "Good morning Sir" or "Bhaiya" were only said the next day when they knew I had been around for a day!

I helped out with computer classes with Mehmood Bhaiya and spent time with all teachers. A few days at the school were not enough, however in the limited time I was there it was enough time to make friends with the students and teachers especially with Mehmood bhaiya and Neetu. I still remember them fondly and am in touch with them via email which we had set up together!

Watching kids brush their teeth in the morning (the tooth brush programme for primary kids school), I never thought could be so fascinating. Watching them from upstairs, while they all giggled as I took their photos whilst brushing used to bring a smile to my face!


The food at the school was amazing – to cook over 2000 chapattis daily is not for the faint hearted! But the kids all helped out and the “loki” cooked by them was spicy and delicious! All kids gathering in the auditorium and sitting in line for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks were truly Kodak moments!

At the school, I also met with Lindsay and Ron who had been volunteers at the school and had a long association with Sam. Seeing Lindsay help out with the classes and kids running up to her and Ron’s determination to increase the number of toilets in the villages made me think that Sam’s message was spreading. He had volunteers from abroad who had heard about this and were helping him make this difference.

It was sad saying goodbye to all the kids on my last day. I genuinely had the most amazing time there. The PPES is a wonderful cause. With the primary school initiative, they are laying down the basic foundation which is fundamental to their growth and prosperity. The girls want to learn, be more independent and it’s the education, the vocational skills that they are being taught is going to help them succeed in their life – a fine example is Asha’s story!



The team in the Delhi office – Nat, Preeti, Renuka, Eshant and Shrijna are all so committed to the cause and proudly say “our” school and “our” school kids. It is after all - their school, their efforts, their determination that is helping the school with its success but any help for the school no matter how small is a big stepping stone for the school’s future. I genuinely wish them all the very best and Sam with this mission. I would love to go back to the school and meet them all again and spend time with them.

This experience has left me with fond memories and made me realise that education is so important, something that we take for granted here but not every child in India has the privilege of!

The Pardada Pardadi school kids are fortunate to have this access to this and are determined to make their stories a success with PPES! >>

Thank you Aashish! It was great to have you and we hope to see you soon!!!

Have you heard of Flat Stanley? Well, we would like to have a 'Paper Preeti', and we'd love to have you involved! Here are the steps:

1. Our students will create a 'Paper Preeti' (a paper doll) of themselves, along with a letter allowing the reader to learn more about their lives.

2. They will send their letters to you, requesting you to take pictures with 'Paper Preeti'.

3. You will then upload the picture and email it to our designated website (http://www.flickr.com/photos/37706901@N05/3470674762/). Include a brief description of the name of the student and the location of the picture in the subject line.

4. Forward 'Paper Preeti' on to a friend or family member, so that 'Paper Preeti' can see more of the world.

You'll be able to track Paper Preeti through our website.

Want to participate? Email sally@pardadapardadi.org with your name, email address and mailing address. Want more info? Email or call me at +91 11-4650-2631

Annual Day: Tumbling, singing, dancing and performances - that was the scene for the biggest event of the year: Annual Day. The weather was sunny and pleasant, and guests from India and abroad were greeted by hundreds of students and presented with a busy schedule of events, tours of the school and a delicious lunch. Suzanne Schwartz of New York City was very impressed with the school. "I have worked as a volunteer for schools in Delhi, but I was surprised by how large Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School was, yet it was much more organized and the students were intelligent and fun to be with."

The chief guest, Andrew Horne, the South Asia head of Xerox, and his wife, distributed prizes to the top students in the school. These include girls with the best grades and with maximum attendance. Dave Prager, of New York, most enjoyed the reception he received when he first arrived. "We were each assigned a student as our guide. My guide spoke English, and she gave me a tour of the school. The students were unfazed by our attention and were very confident."

Diwali: the biggest Hindu festival of the year, fell on October 28th. The students decorated the school with rangoli and lit up diyas and feasted on some yummy sweets.

Recently, we've had the honor of having two volunteers at the school. Elissa, of New York, came 4 months ago to shoot footage for a documentary, and is also teaching English and compiled profiles for our students which record information students and their family. As she prepares to go home, Elissa reflected on her time at PPES, "As I wrap up my projects, I realize I'm learning more from the girls who I had originally come to teach."

Jacobi Wade (pictured), of Florida, came for 6 weeks and in between teaching English, she organized a library in which students can check out books to take home. Basic Hindi books are very popular, as well as Dr. Seuss books because they use very simple words and the illustrations help you understand the meaning of the words (for example, you see that a cat is indeed "in the hat").

If you would like to help stock up our library with books or other educational materials, please contact Jenny Steeves at jenny (at) pardadapardadi.org.

On Saturday, October 11th, we held a benefit mela event in Delhi. It was a unique opportunity for us to sell our home-furnishing items, as well as get out the word about what we do. We were joined by over thirty exclusive and export quality vendors, so it was a big shopping opportunity for all the invitees. Many thanks to Ellen Schwartz for hosting and organizing.

On this day, we were raising money specifically for our Residence Complex project. Though there is no shortage of eager students for our school, PPES is struggling to find well-trained teachers. Because of the poverty and lack of good education in this district, it's necessary to recruit teachers from outside Bulandshahr. But because the villages nearby the school do not offer any rental accommodation, the girls are missing out on the opportunity to get the best possible education.

The school is located in a remote part of Bulandshahar with the nearest hotel located two hours away. When volunteers or visitors come, they stay at Sam Singh's (President/Founder of PPES) home. Since he can accommodate only two people at a time, so there is a tremendous need to find additional housing. Click here to contribute. Many thanks to Sherry Fuchs and Ernst & Young for their contributions.

We were recently visited by Mr. MV.Subramanian and Ms. Shubhanjali Roye from Axis Bank Foundation. Impressed by our work, they have decided to renew their commitment to PPES and sponsor students for a second year, and have even increased their support to a total of three hundred students.

We are thankful for their support, and encouraged by their continued commitment towards rural girl child education.

To see the video, please click here.

Dear Friends,

The parents who agreed to send their daughters to the school are true change-makers and a ray of hope for the future. PPES believes that one day villages like Amarpur will be more concerned about their development, quality of education, and quality of human life than about the caste of their daughters' classmates. However, this can only happen with consistent interventions from all of us to work for the development of underdeveloped.

Activities at the School

On an exposure trip thirty students and five teachers visited the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The students learned about power generation. It was a good learning experience and picnic for everyone. We are very thankful to NTPC for providing this wonderful opportunity.

On 25^th July a cultural program was held at the school. Parents of new students were invited to join the student audience for this program. Through this program, we welcomed new parents and students to PPES family. At the same time, the program was an opportunity for the students to show off their talents and for PPES to tell parents more about the school's vision.

Ms. Suman Tomar student of class XI was selected to visit the US for five weeks. Members of the Bitiya Organsiation (Ms.Vinita Garg, Ms. Sandhya) were kind enough to host her for two weeks, followed by Mrs. & Mr. Javid Sonde. Suman was able to visit many places in Washington D.C. and New York. PPES expresses its heartfelt gratitude to all the hosts for hosting Suman and providing her with such a fulfilling experience.

I also had a fruitful visit to the Unitied States. In Chicago I attended a fundraising party organized by Mr. Kush Agarwal. It was really nice to interact with such a diverse group of people. On behalf of PPES I would like to thank him for all his support and guidance.

Ms. Teresa Kozakova visited Pardada Pardadi School. She has agreed to help us in recruitment of volunteers.

With Kind Regards,
Sam

Dear Friends,

June has been a very busy month for our organization. Pardada Pardadi has progressed a great deal through the constant support and encouragement from you all. I feel very happy to share the PPES news with all of you.

Toilet Project
www.poopreport.com/village

Through the initiative of Mr. Dave Praeger, PPES has been able to raise $15,000 from 166 donors. PPES welcomes all these members to the family and thanks once again for your kind donations. With this donation PPES will be able to make at least 60 toilets in the homes of its students.

Examinations

May was a month of examinations for all PPES students. Group Counseling sessions were held with students appearing for class Xth and XII Board examination. There were 17 students appearing for class Xth Board exams and, for the first time, all took Maths as one of their subjects. Unfortunately, the results for class Xth were not very encouraging, as only five students passed their exams. PPES is reconsidering its education programme to improve future exam results.

Happily, 100% of the students who appeared for class V and VIII Board examinations passed!

New School Session

Admission to Other Institutions

Two students have been admitted to the Rai Foundation to their graduation program, one student in fashion design and the other in hospitality. We are very thankful to the Rai Foundation for admitting our students and providing them with scholarships.

PPES is hopeful that this kind of exposure will help the girls develop into smart and strong young women.

Job Opportunities

In line with the school’s expansion, we are also looking to hire a new manager and a fundraiser. We are looking for motivated applicants with a desire to work to help the underprivileged. Please help us find suitable people for the position.

To view the Manager job description, please click here.
To view the Fundraiser job description, please click here.

Visitors and Volunteers

Mr. K. B. Rajoria and Mr. P. B. Vijay from Indian Building Congress visited PPES to do a site survey. PPES and IBC are soon going to launch a vocational training center for boys. This facility will train the boys of the local area in the construction work e.g. masonry, carpentry etc.

Mr. Rambabu Khambapati (Team Leader of Kusuma Foundation) visited Pardada Pardadi to learn about the school’s operations.

Ms. Subha Rajan, CEO of Overseas Indian Facilitation Center also spent one day at the School with two other guests, Mr. Mukul Anand (Director, IMMACULATE) and Ms. Nayantara (A student of Duke University. They all interacted extensively with the students.

Ms. Riti a post-graduate student spent a week at the school, teaching students, computers and dance.

Vocational training cum Production centre

Recently Pardada Pardadi opened a production cum training center. The idea behind this training center is to empower its graduates, senior girls and women of the villages of Anupshahr. Along with training to make home furnishing, participants would also be given training on literacy skills, gender, health & sanitation etc.

During the training period participants are given a stipend of Rs. 250 (USD 6.25) per month as per their attendance in the training center. And after their training is complete they would be able to earn nearly Rs.3,000 (USD 75) per month on the basis of their production.

Marketing initiatives

A summer carnival was organized in Meerut to encourage the sale of PPES products. As part of its commitment to its students, PPES employed two of its graduates in the marketing department. The girls gained valuable first hand experience at the carnival which in turn helps PPES by developing a second line of leadership in marketing.

PPES continues to explore new avenues for marketing its products. As part of this initiative our marketing department secured an order from Mr. V. S. Ramana (Head of Corporate Communications, Larsen & Toubro – Engineering Construction and Contacts division) to make laptop bags for the India-US Global Business and PR Conference to be held in Chennai on 6th June 2008. Mr. Ramana also organized an exhibition of Pardada Pardadi products during this conference. PPES is very thankful to Mr. V. S. Ramana for his support.

Seasons, a large chain of home stores, gave an order to make stuffed toys as a gift for the children visiting their stores. We hope this relationship between Seasons and PPES continues for a long time to come.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism appreciated the products made at PPES and decided to decorate some of its tourist’s bungalows with PPES products. Similarly Reliance also placed the orders with PPES.

As always we look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for the promotion and marketing of our products.

Capacity Building

US Advisory board

PPES has set up a US Advisory Board. The first meeting of the US board was held on 28th June in US and produced many suggestions and ideas. We are hopeful that the formation of this Board will strengthen and further PPES’s mission.

The board members are:

1. Mr. Bill Snook – Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
2. Mr. Ken Hostelley- Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
3. Mr. G. Irv Lipp- APR, Principal Lipp Services, LLC & Hillis Group
4. Mr. Gene Kreuzberger – Marketing expert and former Dupont employee
5. Mr. Ray Whalen - Businessman
6. Prof. Sunil Chopra- Professor at Kellogg Business School
7. Mr. Kush Agarwal- President & CEO of Vein Clinics of America
8. Mr. Andrew Webster- Principal, Wardlaw Hartridge School
9. Mr. Paul Chapman – Principal, Head Royce School
10. Dr. Gary Fountain – Principal, Chatham Hall School
11. Ms. Sue Henderson – Vice President, Institutional Advances at Queens College
12. Ms. Sherry Fuchs – MS psychology, MS business, former child development specialist, Grant writer.

Thank you once again for being a part of PPES family.

With kind regards,
Sam

Dear Friends,

Visitors and Volunteers
Pardada Pardadi School was honored to have many visitors this month.

Mr. V.S. Ramana (Head Corporate communications India, Larsen and Tubros) came to visit and spoke with the graduates about their future plans.

Ms. Mary Anne, Mr. Whit Sears and Ms. DD Sears joined Pardada Pardadi to work as volunteers on the following projects.

· Training of the trainers – for English teaching
· Teaching English to students of Class VI.
· Designing a concept for a Language lab
· Teaching spoken English to a few teachers and senior students
· Developing and training for program auditing system.

Ms. Peggy and Mr. Ray Whalen did a need assessment on health issues and also provided training in first aid. After their visit they have been discussing about various options promoting working of PPES.

Ms. Vinita Garg, a representative of “Bitiya” organization in US visited Pardada Pardadi. We had a very fruitful interaction with her. Bitiya has decided to organize the entire program of Ms. Suman Tomar’s (graduate visiting US this year) stay in US.

As mentioned earlier, the first phase of toilet construction project has been completed. For the next phase of construction, Pardada Pardadi was looking for financial support. We wrote to all the participants of World Toilet Summit 2008. Mr. Dave Praeger responded to the email and visited the school along with his wife.

Mr. Praeger kindly helped raise funds by writing about the toilet project on his website www.poopreport.com/village . The outcome of this initiative will be shared in the next update.

Many volunteers and friends are contributing in different ways to Pardada Pardadi. Last year Class IV students of the Hamlin School in San Francisco, CA decided to help out the cause. By doing various chores at home, the students raised $400 to sponsor a PPES student. Pardada Pardadi was deeply moved by this gesture of such young students.

Natasha Whesker (McDonogh School) and Ms. Garima Kapoor (Wardlaw Hartridge School) also raised donations from their friends and families.

Pardada Pardadi is very thankful to all its friends for their kind gestures, support and time.

Exposure visit
IdiscoverI is a company focusing on child-centered methodology in teaching and learning. Mr. Ashish Rajpal (a partner in company) visited PPES last year. Mr. Rajpal offered to host a group of PPES students and teachers for an adventure camp. Twenty students and three teachers went for an adventure camp to Teerthan Valley, near Manali in Himachal Pradesh, where they were taken for nature walks, trekking, etc. It was the first time that they saw and played in snow!

Pardada Pardadi thanks the entire team at IdiscoverI for making this trip a reality and treating all the participants to such a delightful outing.

PPES has benefited a great deal from trainings conducted by IdiscoverI. Following this trip participants have become ambassadors at the school to promote ideals of cleanliness and time management. We are honored to have this partnership and hope to see it continue for a long time.

Our communication partners: R & PM Edelmen
Mr. Roger Pereira and his team from Edelmen are among the most cherished partners of Pardada Pardadi. They have not only extended financial support, but have always helped us with media contacts and designing and developing communication materials. We salute their sincerity and commitment to Pardada Pardadi. Edelmen has always been more than willing to guide and support us. Whenever approached for help, in his very simple way, Roger always says “We are your media partners, we will be always there to help you.” Thank you, Roger and your team for being with us.

Donation with a difference
Students of Pardada Pardadi have been getting regular donation of rice from two sources: Daawat Basmati Rice and MCKS Food for the Hungry Foundation. This support has enabled PPES to provide a better evening snack to the children. Thank you very much for the kind donation.

With kind regards,
Sam

Pardada Pardadi Educational Society
www.education4change.org
www.pardada-pardadi.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArVz5lM5vQY

After meeting Sam through the World Toilet Summit, PoopReport editor Dave and his wife accepted an invitation to visit Pardada Pardadi. [see picture of Dave in Karanpur village, left (from PoopReport website)] They were so impressed by the school that they have decided to launch a charity drive to raise funds for the toilet project. The initiative starts with 43 toilets in Karanpur village and eventually expands to one toilet in the home of each PPES student.

As of 2 AM on May 1st, PoopReport and its readers have raised $4,630.75! (That's enough money for 18 toilets!) Thanks PoopReport!

For more information on the PoopReport charity drive and on the toilet project generally, please visit the PoopReport website.

PPES has an ongoing partnership with Encore! a nonprofit organization affiliated with returned Peace Corps volunteers that specializes in developing, managing and measuring social impact projects around the world. To date, three former Peace Corps volunteers/staff members have been deployed to Pardada Pardadi on short-term assignments lasting 2-6 months in their areas of professional expertise.


WHY JOIN US NOW?

The social needs of PPES continue to grow and expand. Dedicated people with specific expertise are always in short supply. Former Peace Corps volunteers and staff members collectively possess a wide variety of skills and experience that can aid PPES as it continues its mission to bring education and gender development to the community. These men and women still want to make a difference and are searching for practical ways to do so with PPES.


PAST ENCORE VOLUNTEER PROJECTS AT PPES

• Training programs for teachers
• Educational development for staff and students
• English, as second language program development
• Organizational development programs
• Capacity building for the business enterprise, Business development programs
• Fundraising
• (Coming soon) Computer training courses for students

For more information on the organization, please visit http://www.encoreservicecorps.org


PPES will shortly announce the launch of a German-language website for the charity. Check back here soon for details of the site and its url!

Please click here to view PPES' listing on idealist.org.

PPES is looking for a TEFL volunteer starting May 2008. A partial description of the position is included below, more information can be found here or by emailing pardada_pardadi_school@yahoo.com.


Description:
A life changing opportunity: Volunteers teach English as a second language at our vocational school for girls, creating opportunities for students and local teachers to contribute to their country's development. In addition to classroom teaching, Volunteers share resources, develop teaching materials with local teachers, and become involved in community- and school-based projects.

Requirements:
Native or fluent English speaker. BA or MA degree with 6+ months experience abroad.
Former Peace Corp volunteers are encouraged to apply.
Hindi language skills are not required but useful.
Minimum commitment: 3 months

How to Apply:
Please send 1) your CV / resume, 2) one page essay of intent (optional, but appreciated), 3) list of 3 references and their contact information (incl. email if available) to pardada_pardadi_school@yahoo.com.

Again, questions and inquiries are always welcome.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

This summer rural England became involved in the Pardada Pardadi cause when Mrs. Kate Bedford, mother of Izzy, one of the PPES volunteers, and her friends organized a fundraising event for the school.



left: the fundraiser invitation






Here is what Mrs. Bedford had to say about "A Bollywood Evening":

I thought it would be a nice idea to have a fundraising evening for PPES while my daughter Isabel was working at PP School. Along with my friends, Emma and Helen, and their husbands, Brian and Eddie, we organised a “Bollywood Evening” in our local village hall in Oldbury, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, U.K., on 29th June 2007.
We screened “Bride and Prejudice” and served Indian snacks and drinks to about 75 friends and members of the local community. We managed to raise £650 at this very successful and enjoyable evening.
Kate Bedford.





A picture of the organizing team. 









PPES deeply thanks Mrs. Bedford and her friends for all their help!


If you too are interested in helping the school or simply learning more about the organization please send us an email.  (See the sidebar for contact information.)