Notes from the Field - Issue 3

A Day in

the Life of

notes from the field

issue 3

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www.asianaid.org.au

a Sponsor

Child

Images and Stories Collected by Joshua and Tammy Moses© 2012 Asian Aid Australia.

November 2012 // Issue 3

In the Morning


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If I’m a day student sponsored for education and I live in the city, this is where I wake up.

It wasn’t always like this; before if we couldn’t afford a house we lived on the streets in make-shift houses made out of tin.

We normally walk or take the bus to get to school, but that’s after we’ve finished off any last minute homework we couldn’t finish the night before because the electricity went out.

We don’t always have electricity, but we’re used to eating, studying, showering and helping out around the house by candlelight.


If I’m a boarding sponsor student, this is where I wake up.

My room that I share with many others.

I may be far from home, but here I’ve made a lot of friends who never let me sleep in and miss

breakfast.

In the Morning


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Water is considered precious for us. When I lived at home, and even now in

my dorm, we are taught to not be wasteful with water.

Before we go to school we make sure we’re clean and smelling fresh, but we don’t have a shower, we have a ‘bucket

bath’.

It’s hard when its winter time since we don’t have hot water. In the summer bucket-baths are refreshing from the

heat, but if the monsoon doesn’t bring lots of rain our wells don’t get full.

In the Morning



My Breakfast

Our menu depends on what is growing at that time of year.

Dishes like Khichdi (rice and dry lentils), Dal Bhat (lentil curry and rice) and

vegetable fry are our favourites.

There are lots of different fruits we can eat, but sometimes they are expensive

so we can only have them a few times a week.

Sometimes we only eat twice a day, but don’t worry, we can eat a lot!



Heading to School

Some of us take a bus, and some walk. Some of us are boarders and we don’t

have to walk very far.

Though our roads and paths are often muddy or dusty, we keep our uniforms

pretty clean, it’s a part of being well presented and disciplined.

There is an ancient tradition we use to get to school. It is called ‘walking’!

Some of the day students in city schools will take the public bus to school if it is too far to walk. Though it’s nice to sit with friends on the bus, they don’t like the pollution and how many people try

and fit on the bus. Sometimes people hang off the sides!

We make sure in rainy seasons to carry umbrellas, but sometimes our school uni-forms get muddy and dirty from all the

splashes.



At School

Some of us take a bus, and some walk. Some of us are boarders and we don’t

have to walk very far.

Though our roads and paths are often muddy or dusty, we keep our uniforms

pretty clean, it’s a part of being well presented and disciplined.

Our day usually starts with an assembly.

Depending on the school we will sometimes sing our national anthem,

sometimes have a prayer, or even do a few stretches to work out the

morning kinks and aches.

If we perform well school and treat each other nicely, we can be nomi-

nated as class leaders. It might give us more responsibility but we like it.



The classroom is where the action happens. We are told that if we are to be successful in life we must try hard and learn a lot in school.

Our teachers make us work hard. Sometimes depending on the school we learn three different languages; like Hindi, Telegu and

English. We all have dreams of what to do when we’re older, and we know we have to study well for these dreams to come true.

At School



Some of our classrooms have pictures or posters on the wall, but most are pictures we’ve drawn. We would love to have more

posters and pictures!

At School

Most of the classrooms we’re in have desks. We all have strong bags and we get new uniforms

every year. This way we look and

feel pretty good!



A lot of our schools give us lunch. It is by far the loudest time of the day. See, in our countries the plates and cups are all

made out of stainless steel. When you add all that clanking to our talking and laughing it can get really loud!

School lunches are usually a small meal of rice with some sort of curry or vegetable fry. Eating with our hands is tradition in

our countries, but sometimes we use forks. Either way, after we’re done we wash and dry our dishes and

hands; we’re pretty particular about keeping them clean!

My Lunch



Leisure Time

Cricket is a sport enjoyed and played by most boys at our schools. Even the ones who don’t particularly like to play still

know all the famous cricketeers. We also carry our national pride with our love for cricket; we’ll defend our country in any match

anywhere anytime!We all try and teach the younger boys how to bat and bowl.

Sometimes it is frustrating because they don’t bowl well, but they have to learn some how!!



All of us who live on campus have dinner together.We sometimes have to help in the kitchens, either

cutting vegetables or stirring massive pots of rice. It’s a good place to be in the cold winter, but in sum-

mertime the kitchen is quite hot! Depending on the season, we get a good variety of vegetables that many in Western nations have never

had. Some are really tasty and some are not!

Dinner Time



In the winter months if we have no electricity it makes

studying at night difficult since the sun sets so early.

In the summertime we enjoy long hours of sunlight so we can still study even if there is

no electricity.

Thanks for having a look into a day in our lives. There may be a little bit that we left out, but we really do want to include you into our lives! We’d love to hear from you as well; we’d love to include reading a letter

from you into our day and hear about what your days are filled with!

In the evening time we usu-ally study after dinner. After we do our chores that is! Our chores usually involve

keeping our rooms and bathrooms clean, and help-

ing clean the kitchen up after dinner.

Good Night!


HERE’S YOUR OPPORTUNITYTO GET INVOLVED IN A

CHILD’S LIFEAND BRING ABOUT POSITIVE CHANGE.

GIVE HOPE TODAY WITH

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Documents

Notes from the Field - Issue 3