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Rally for the Students!

Usha Madam, our headmistress, had a great idea. She led the children in a rally around the neighborhood to "advertise" the school and the strength of the student body. Today, we did it a second time. Here they are! What a huge line of kids, it is just crazy! Thanks, Usha Madam! (We call her that, all senior people are called by the first name, then Madam. They try to call me that, but I can't stand it so they call me Auntie.) Here she is, in her office, perfecting the admissions register.

After the rally, everyone got bananas. It was lovely to see all the kids settling in, muching down bananas, pulling out books and notebooks to get ready for one set of lessons before the lunch. It is just so good to see them eating. So many of the students are just too thin. Venkatesh (see earlier posts) and his sibilings, Manjula and Swami, are great examples of this. They are tiny creatures. Swami, the youngest, is six but Campbell is nearly ten pounds bigger than he is. The school now has an extra food program in the operating budget. 500 rs per week: 200 for fruit and 300 for extra veggies or even eggs (298 rs for 200 eggs = a pretty good deal). Of course, we always get lucky with local donations of veggies, especially from my partner at the school - Kalpana. Between the rallies, the new extra food program, the new headmistress, and the school garden veggies, enrollment is really, really up.

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