~A report on Literacy Status Appraisal byUNESCO
club
All members
were up by 6 in the morning. The first task was to prepare our lunch and the
deed was done within no time, with all hands busy. Two curries and steaming
rice found their way into the lunch boxes. Then we moved to the mess for
breakfast.
After which we
gathered and the coordinator briefed on the day’s task. Everyone was grouped in
pairs and the forms were distributed to each group. Everyone was excited to
their fullest… energetic and wearing broad smiles.
Then we
marched, walked and strolled. On the way, laughter filled the air and Birds
chirping amidst was an added adventure. It was so enthralling to be out of our
normal routines. Some were busy with
sweet melodies plugged in their ears whilst few sang. We stopped occasionally
and enjoyed the breathtaking view. Photo sessions were always interesting with
some girls shying away from the camera though some gave their broadest smiles.
We saw wide spread of fields filled with varied crops and we were greeted by
the overwhelming fragrance of nature.
An hour went by and we reached a small
clustered village called Gyelekha. It
was then that we started to get busy. In our respective pairs, we spread across
the village and interviewed the villagers. The response from the community was
encouraging. Some even offered tea and lunch. Few of our friends found the task
difficult as they had to literally translate the questions. But it was fun and
knowledge filled all the way.
Upon
completion of our tasks in the village, we gathered near a chorten (stupa) below the village. The view from the spot was
enticing and it was a treat after all the heat and sweating. Photo sessions and
refreshment constituted the much deserved break.
A good rest
taken, we moved towards the next village. After climbing some slopes, crossing
few brooks and strolling over numerous terraced fields, we reached Nyishokha, the next village. The members
did their best to get answers and yes, we were done.
The
coordinator collected the data and found out that we were done with 40 households.
We didn’t have more households to do owing to time constraint and absence of
villages in the immediate vicinity.
Satisfied and
relaxed, we started our return journey. We stopped in a shady oak forest to
feast our much awaited lunch. We were all hungry and exhausted. The meal was
awesome. We stayed for a while and resumed our trip. The lunch compelled us to
stay longer or even take a good nap.
Though
rejuvenated, we were feeling sluggish to walk. This led to a snail’s pace on
our return journey. There was less laughter and talking. But the tables turned when we saw our school,
which meant something rewarding. The coordinator discussed and started yet
another activity. We decided to clean the path as we walk- a cleaning campaign.
Few picked up their first waste after much convincing from the coordinator and
friends. The cleaning slowly gained momentum and everybody was busy filling the
empty sacks. It was sad to see the filthy heaps of garbage here and there among
the green beauty of our environment. The amount of refuse was so much that our
sacks were not enough for the garbage in the wild occasionally used forest
trail. We had no choice but resort to
leave the papers and just pick the plastics and other non-biodegradable. We had
five overflowing sacks when we reached our school. We wondered the amount of
pollution in the other parts of the society as it was more than shocking to see
such amount of waste in a secluded and less travelled surrounding with very
less population.
Thus we
reached our school at 5 PM. We had various experiences- exhausted, fulfilled
and “I need a refreshing shower” …
feelings were all we had with us.
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