Volunteer Naavya Shrivastava shares her experience
“My Unforgettable Summer experience at Parikrma”
-By Naavya Shrivastava , Grade XI, Greenwood High School, Bangalore, India
What started as a summer internship at Parikrma humanity foundation, turned into a life changing journey, one lesson at a time. I was fortunate to be able to volunteer as a Teacher at Parikrma that runs 4 English medium schools and offer free education to over 1800 children from slums in Bengaluru, India. They have been named as the best Social Impact School in India and is amongst India’s Top 10 Most admired philanthropic schools.
On June 20, 2024, I began my journey as a teacher at Parikrma. Despite being just over five feet tall, I found myself in a classroom with students who were much taller than me. However, to my peasant surprise, I was greeted with sweet smiles from kids who had experienced life from perspectives vastly different from my own. As I stand before a classroom of bright young minds, I realized I was about to learn more than I could ever teach.
Often being the girl that spoke only when spoken to, who would rather do the work all by herself than seek help, I was sucked out of my comfort zone right from day one. I needed to up my game and had to put myself in the shoes of a teacher, someone who must lead by example, who need to be proactive in striking a conversation and engage dozens of kids all at once.
The start was definitely not easy. The first class I entered was of grade 8. While I looked at them with a bright smile, their faces were moulded with curiosity. Bharath anna was already there, talking to the kids with so much ease. However, he spoke in
Kannada (native language of Karnataka state), a language I’m embarrassed to say I’m not very familiar with, despite living in Karnataka my whole life. Throughout the
40 minutes period I just sat there, observing the kids. Looking into their eyes, hoping to find a welcoming gaze, a sweet smile that would help me settle my nerves. Soon
enough I found just that, not only in one or two students, but in every single one of them. After overcoming the anxiety, I started talking to them and the conversations
helped me understand them better.
Feeling more confident, I moved to the Sun class (KG-2). Their innocent faces were just adorable. Their hands barely covered a quarter of mine as they gave me the cutest high-fives. However, this class was also the hardest to manage. They all spoke only in Tamil (native language from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu), barely understanding English. The language barrier was extremely difficult to
overcome in this class. After few attempts I was able to communicate with them in broken English and Hindi. From then on, I was nothing but grateful, nothing but happy entering their class every week as their carefree faces never failed to turn a frown upside down.
What followed afterwards, was days and weeks of interactive classes where I assisted in teaching Art, helping students with their artwork and mentoring them in various activities. From drawing basic shapes, and filling them with colours to complex pen murals and paintings by the older kids. The Annual day props were another stroke of brilliance, where we collectively made over a 100 masks, huts, a train and much more using just cardboard and paint.
And it was not just serious study, there was a lot of fun too. Once there was a debate about the best cricket team of Indian Premier League and two different groups were
keen to have me at their side. Some students started calling me Nivea (instead of Naavya) because my name was too hard to pronounce. There was a day when a girl
insisted that I let her braid my hair and she did it beautifully. Warm hugs were received every day, high -fives, fist-bumps were all too common. Their infectious energy made my two hours daily commute almost painless, my excitement to see them overriding all the discomfort a long car ride in Bangalore traffic would give.
The kids at Parikrma are the most sincere, helpful, fun-loving and inquisitive bunch that I have come across. Despite their hardships, they spread joy and happiness, something we all can learn so much from. Learning more about the kids, and their life stories outside of school made me realise how much the world is in need of compassionate people. These students really brought out a whole new perspective in my life and they have changed me forever.
I have a new found respect for Teachers after this experience. So often we overlook the amount of effort they put in to make a better person out of us. It is not easy to manage multiple classes with kids of varying background and proficiencies. Teachers
need to be at their top game irrespective of what is going on in their personal lives. It is truly a noble profession, one that I now have first-hand experience of.
While it is difficult to say if I made an impact at the school, the vice-versa is definitely true. In these five weeks I grew as an individual, a person who is more compassionate than ever before. I worked on my communication skills to navigate the language barriers and built some very strong bonds with kids & other teachers. I used various leadership tactics to manage the class that included coaching, encouragement & sometimes disciplinary actions too.
My time with the kids at this wonderful organization flew by far too quickly. My idle time is often spent reminiscing on the beautiful memories I made with them, resulting in a smile almost always lingering on my face. The memories that I earned, the experience and guidance that I received and all the skills I gained really made my summer break worthwhile. I hope I can return back to this immensely rewarding adventure as soon as possible. Who would have known that volunteering to teach would end up being the most powerful education I will ever receive.
None of this would have been possible without the guidance and support of the wonderful teachers at Parikrma. A heartfelt thanks to Gunna Akka, Principal of the Koramangala campus for always making me feel welcome; Bharath anna and Uday Anna, the Art teachers, alongside whom I worked with for most part of these 5 weeks; and Anuradha ma’am who introduced me to the world of Parikrma. I was fortunte enough to listen to the journey of Dr Shukla Bose, founder-CEO of Parikrma Foundation who epitomises unwavering dedication and compassion in changing lives – The Parikrma way!
Everyone should find a way to give back to society, and if you are in Bengaluru, I will highly recommend Parikrma humanity foundation. So what are you waiting for? Find a cause you care for, and start making a difference today!