Grace Critchley, India 2017

This summer I was lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to stay in Sangam, in India, to complete the Discover Your Potential programme. There were so many different projects to get involved with, including the Muslim Girls Orphanage, Doorstep school and Deep Griha.

In particular, I got involved in a project called Anand Gram. We visited the village and got to know the local people, then worked closely in the school. I worked with a class of 5 and 6 year olds, where I taught them some English, including numbers and fruits, as well as songs and games such as duck duck goose and what time is it Mr. Wolf (which they loved!!!). We also got the opportunity to paint the school! We brightened up the walls with paintings of animals and fruits, as well as a welcome sign and “clean India” painting which showed the children the importance of picking up litter and keeping their village clean.

It was so important seeing the way that people live in India, as it is so different to my own life, and made me realise just how lucky I am. Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces when I worked with them, and performing our special handshakes everyday, revealed to me that even I, an ordinary 16 year old, had the potential to make a difference to someone’s life. Therefore, I feel like this project was just a taste of what it’s like to make a difference, and it has made me realise that I want to be involved in more work like this in the future – I have already started researching!! I also learnt that anybody can make a difference if they try, as well as the importance of charities which support less developed countries by providing them with work, as this helps communities in the long term. Seeing stories etc. in the news about countries in poverty is extremely upsetting, but I feel like seeing it for my own eyes really has given me insight and made it all that more real.

Thank you once again for supporting me!