Today marked yet another frenzied – though rewarding – day. Upon arriving at Kathputli Colony and Shadipur Depot’s education facility, we reconvened with the Jesus and Mary College SIFE team and CHI’s directors for our morning assembly. Though originally developed for English speaking Indian students of an older age, our lesson plans were restructured the previous night to work with an entirely new audience: children aged 4 to 11 with little to no English speaking ability. The revisions brought an entirely new element to our preparations; however, flexibility was vital. Bernard, Melissa, and myself all focused on various initiatives throughout the week. Today I laid the foundation designed to formulate their “principles for success.” All the children examined their special talents, recognized the importance of education, and discussed their future and more immediate objectives in an effort to achieve their goals. Melissa took all the children in her class on a “Treasure Hunt” of India where they utilized technology and word processors to expand their knowledge of the world outside of their own village. Bernard focused on a more holistic approach to the children’s education by working on their public speaking skills and encouraging one another to explore their personal strengths.

Immediately after our day of teaching, our team visited & Mary College for a presentation and tour. Bernard and I had served on University of Florida’s Student’s In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team so we were asked to give a small lecture on our experiences, projects, and the overall organizational structure. It’s a great association utilizing business principles to conduct micro-enterprise service projects, so working with another SIFE team across the world was a great opportunity to share best practices and what we had learned throughout our time at UF. After arriving at the college, we were introduced to five students from England traveling to India on a Prime Minister’s Fellowship program. It was great chatting with foreigners like ourselves and sharing our thoughts on the wide range of cultural differences between all of our countries. By afternoon’s end we were able to get them excited about initiating their own SIFE team in addition to discussing our mission with Children’s Hope India. With yet another day complete and only two more remaining, our time in India is approaching its conclusion.

- Brian