Saturday, 17 April 2010
An exciting invitation from Project Mala
The latest email I have received from Project Mala, the charity through which I sponsor a child in India, is particularly exciting. It is an invitation to an official opening of the new Project Mala school. Wow! What an amazing opportunity! Since I first started looking at the website for Project Mala and considering whether I would sponsor a child through the Project Mala charity, I was aware that the project allows – in fact encourages - sponsors to visit its schools. One of the pages on the website that I particularly found useful and reassuring when I was considering whether to become a sponsor of a child with Project Mala was the “visitor comments page” which shows comments written by people like you or me who have been able to visit a Project Mala school. See for yourself what visitors have said just by clicking here and you may be as impressed as I was and decide to sponsor a child too! There are also pages on the website where you can read what sponsors have said, look at press comments, see what major funders have said and view for yourself independent reports such as a report from Unesco which states “the work undertaken by the organisation is really of great quality….”. I honestly think it is absolutely amazing what this small charity can achieve through being focused, efficient and receiving the support of individuals who offer to sponsor a child for a fee of £9 per month for primary children or £15 per month for secondary children; an amount which covers the total costs of an individual child, including schooling, uniforms and a midday meal. What better value for less than 50p per day can you get than that these days?
From the quotes I have read by sponsors who have visited a Project Mala school, I am aware that it is an impressive, interesting and inspiring experience to visit a school …something I will write about to share with you in another blog post soon. This invitation to visit though is clearly extra special as sponsors are being given the chance to attend the opening of a school which must be such a momentous occasion ~ a chance to see Project Mala expanding its vital work in order to help more children who need to benefit from what they do. Seeing the children benefiting from the wonderful work this charity is able to do thanks to its sponsors, and at the same time experiencing a trip to ‘Incredible India’ as the adverts say, would be amazing experiences by themselves I am sure, but combined with co-inciding these experiences with witnessing such a special occasion as a new school opening seems like an opportunity any of us would love to take up if at all possible.
The email I have received from Project Mala goes on to explain, helpful as ever, that they have asked a New Delhi travel agent to put together a draft itinerary with an approximate cost. This itinery is just a suggestion though as sponsors are welcome to make their own arrangements and organize a trip that suits their own pace, pockets and preferences. To attend the opening of the school, sponsors just need to be in Varanasi, a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on 9 – 11 February 2011. Varanasi is regarded as holy by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India.The email I have received from Project Mala explains more and maps of where they work can be found on the Project Mala website.
Project Mala advises booking soon because February is a very popular month to visit India due to the temperatures usually being very comfortable. Early booking may also be advisable to maximize the time there is to look forward to the trip! The suggested trip sounds very tempting for tourist reasons alone. As I look through the itinery some of the place names and activities are familiar as I was lucky enough to go to India for a holiday a couple of years ago and enjoyed visiting these places as part of that trip. I found my trip to India was indeed an incredible experience so I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to revisit places such as the India Gate War Memorial at New Delhi ...
... and would love to repeat activities such as an elephant ride in Jaipur.
Seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise is a highlight for many people.
The Project Mala suggested trip also includes viewing The Ganges, something I did not see during my holiday to India which I hope to experience one day.
But this trip which Project Mala is suggesting to its sponsors has the unique offering of a chance to meet the Mala Team in India, visit rural India to get a first hand opportunity to assess the value of the work Project Mala is doing, see some other village schools, watch some carpets being woven and meet the sponsored child(ren)…it truly sounds awesome. If you watch the film on You Tube you can get a fantastic flavour of the work of Project Mala but to be there is bound to be brilliant. I imagine the team in India as well as the children and staff at the school will be pleased to welcome sponsors to their school’s official opening, some presentations by Mala children and a buffet lunch in a Chamiana (Marquee).
My job as a teacher means I am unlikely to be able to take part in the suggested trip because I am committed to being at work on particular dates but I will certainly investigate whether I can take part in some way….wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity like this, would you?
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