Project: SVO, IT for Learning and Teaching, India
Dates: December 2005; June 2006; December 2007; June 2008
Location: Karnataka, 4 hours from Bangalore, India
Purpose: Share with about teachers from village schools how to use computers in the classroom and pupil training in computers.
Beneficiaries: 60 teachers from 15 schools

When Susan Ang went to the village of Kondlahalli in 2006, she was floored by the langauge barrier. “There was a complete communication breakdown when we gave our first workshop in computer skills to the kids,” recalls the bubbly Mathematics teacher from Republic Polytechnic. The students, mostly 13- and 14-year-olds, could understand barely a word. Even though one of the school’s teachers acted as a translator, the session went by in sign language and frustrated gesturing. “They learn English but because they don’t speak it—there is no use for it in the village—and because they learn mainly lists of verbs and things by rote, the children in reality could barely speak the language.”

When she returned to conduct a follow-up session the next year, she couldn’t believe her ears. The very same children were now speaking to her in English. “They could say ‘How are you?’ and asked how my family was,” recalls Ang, amazed. She asked how it was that they had suddenly mastered the language. “They told me that they have been studying English hard to speak to me because they knew I was coming back.”

This unexpected, incredibly touching gesture was only one of the many surprises in store for Susan and her three fellow volunteers on their trip in June 2008. To date, she has travelled to India four times for the IT in learning and teaching project sponsored by UBS and she says with shining eyes, “with each visit there are new surprises.”

What sort of IT skills did you share with the teachers and students in India?
For our workshop in 2008, we taught Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Among the four volunteers, each took on one software. The two English teachers showed how to use Microsoft Word for composition, the Chinese teacher taught PowerPoint while I taught Excel.

How did you make contact with the schools in India to organise the workshops there?
Through the SIF, we collaborated with agencies in India – the Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund (S3DIF), Shala Network and Chaitanya. They focus on women’s welfare and education. They were contact point for all the schools in the villages.

Was it your first time volunteering overseas?
Yes. The first trip to India at the end of 2005 was a field study. It was an eye opener because it was my first time in India and first time going into an overseas environment with many uncertainties. I wondered if I could adapt to the food and the language. My Singaporean project partner, another teacher, is an ethnic Indian, so I was more worried about myself adapting to the place.

How did you come to know about this volunteer opportunity?
I head about it as a Ministry of Education’s teacher-work attachment, advertised as an IT attachment project.

Why did you decide to volunteer?
Firstly I wanted to share what I know with others abroad. The specific country was secondary.

How was your experience of sharing skills?
I think it’s not just that they have learnt but I have learnt and grown too. The way I look at things is very different now. The world has grown much bigger. People in India can be very limited by resources, but if they want to get something done, they can really do it. We brought a projector but we needed a screen. Within 5 to 10 minutes, some villagers manage to get a large white cloth. In Singapore, we would say, ‘Sorry, we have no screen,’ and that’s it. You may say that in India it seems there is little planning and organisation, but their systems do work and you realise that while the way they do things may not be what we’ve learnt in school and in Singapore, there are many other perspectives and ways of doing things which can turn out just as well.

Because of this exposure, I have more patience and better understanding; I feel I’m better able to respond in a spontaneous manner.

What did you learn about the people in these villages in India?
I realise that the villagers are very friendly, passionate people. We were invited to many homes. We were walking around taking pictures when we passed one of the students’ homes. He invited us in and showed us his kitchen, introduced all his family members and even introduced his cow! On the spot the family prepared little snacks and biscuits for us. If they had coffee or tea, they would go and milk the cow for fresh milk for the drinks! They are very, very warm people.

How do you balance your teaching in Singapore with this overseas volunteer work?
It’s no problem because our volunteer trips are in June and December, during school break. We’ll meet up once with the SIF for the pre-trip preparation. The SIF is efficient in helping us laisie with the agency in India to get updates on the effects of our previous training session so we can design the next session. Within two weeks to a month before the trip, we need to create the material for the workshop. The pre-trip planning is very intensive.

How did you have to adapt to working in India?
Yes, much of what we did, we could only plan for to an extent. We would bring our laptops and hard disks and conduct the workshop with them. In India, things can change very quickly and unexpectedly. For example, today, they may tell you that there will be three teachers attending the workshop tomorrow. But the next day, 30 people could turn up! So lots of things are very impromptu. I also learnt to adapt to the timing there. In Singapore, you can plan a schedule for something to happen at 2pm, followed by something else at 3pm, etc. Over there, it doesn’t happen. You have to follow their timing, yet somehow, you’re still able to get things done.

What’s best thing you’ve taken away from your experience in India?
It would be the friends we made in the villages. When we first went there for the feasibility study, they were very protective of their area. No one would talk to us, and when we made contact through the translator, it was all very formal. Even the organisation in India whom we collaborated with was very reseerved. The second year, when we went to conduct the first workshop, they were friendlier. The third year, after we’d conducted the second workshop and it was a success, the whole village was very friendly. We were invited to the village head’s house. He brought us to see the chicken farm, the hospital, etc.

Why did they seem unfriendly at first?
A lot of outsiders go there with big plans and make lots of promises but they sometimes don’t deliver or abandon the projects midway. So they don’t trust outsiders easily. When they saw that we came back the next year to carry on with the project, and the next, they started to trust us and open up. Now, when we go there, we have personal friends. One of my friends is a Mr Annan and his wife. When we first went there, they were newly married. Now, they have children. When we visit, we bring toys for their baby boy and they cook for us.

What is the most satisfying aspect of volunteering to you?
That I’ve made a difference in the lives of the children I have taught and to the teachers there I have shared my skills with. There are challenges—like cockroaches in our hotel bathroom in a little town near the village and no modern bathroom facilities in the village schools (you just have to pee on the grond behind a zinc screen!)— but if you can overcome them, it’s very fun and a wonderful experience.

What advice do you have for aspiring volunteers?
Be very open-minded. Be prepared to learn from them, we are not just there to teach. Enjoy yourself!

Slide show by Susan of friends in the village of Kondlahalli:
http://suanang.multiply.com/video/item/9/2006_Pupils_Training.wmv