Just One: Shiva Ji Mission School - July 16

​The monsoon rains have continued daily over the past week and this morning is no exception.  Even getting to the Shiva Ji Mission School requires gumboots and I see rickshaws and motorcycles stalled in the deep puddles of water on the roads as I sit in the rickshaw.  In fact the access roads to the school have become so muddy and dangerous to walk that the teachers call me  en-route and offer to pick me up at a safe place on their motor scooter.   They are concerned I will slip on the thick, sludgy mud when walking the access roads
 
With this in mind, I am not surprised that the number of children remains low. The teachers tell me that today the student numbers are about 50-60 short of the enrolled numbers. 

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 Even so, as I walk through the classrooms I can see many new faces, and the lack of uniforms also indicates the new students.  Today we are giving a mango to each student as mangos are now in season and very plentiful.  In fact at the moment it is one of the few fruits available.  As the turn out today is low, each of the older students is given a second mango as well.

​With the distribution complete, I say goodbye to the many smiling faces and to the grateful teachers with the classes already beginning to recommence   Today the younger groups are having their reading lessons, so I am blessed to leave to the musical sound of many young voices sweetly reciting their Hindi words, a magical sound that stays with me.