Posted: 02/05/2008
Twenty children from Anna Nagar, a slum colony in central Delhi, and three staff members visited the British High Commissioner's residence on 30th April 2008. They were specially invited by Mrs. Wendy Butler, the wife of the High Commissioner for an interactive session. When the children were informed of this visit they were very excited and had started preparing many days in advance. All of them were smartly dressed up for the special visit.
On 30th April the children were picked up in the morning and taken to the High Commission. The staff of the High Commission welcomed them and took them to the High Commissioner's residence. The children felt as if they had landed in a dreamland in a beautiful garden with a huge house.
The children were led into the living room which was huge and nicely decorated with beautiful paintings and lots of books on various subjects. The children sat comfortably on the carpets. Mrs. Wendy Butler greeted the children and introduced herself. All the children and staff of Asha introduced themselves. The children briefly described the activities of Bal Mandals (Children's Associations). After the introduction, Mrs. Wendy Butler made a power point presentation on the education system of Britain. She showed a lot of pictures of different schools at Kinder Garden, Primary and Secondary levels. Almost all the building shown in the pictures were painted in bright colours. The main idea was to make the schools and the classrooms look brighter and lively. All the schools had big playgrounds, gym, swimming pools and big halls for indoor games. There were pictures of students working in different well equipped units such as computer lab with laptops, carpentry and cooking.
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At the end the children enjoyed snacks and had an informal discussion with Mrs. Wendy Butler and the staff of High Commision. They were given a warm send off with lovely gifts. It was indeed an unforgettable experience.
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I was widowed at 25 and left with 3 children – the youngest was just one year old. Asha helped me financially so I could send my children to school and now have a job as a maid. I thought about ending my life but Asha gave me the support to carry on.
Vimla, Ekta Vihar
