For 9 short days, I and eight other delegates, from a school called Kantonsschule Wettingen in Switzerland, had the opportunity to visit Delhi as part of an exchange program with Amity International School. I appreciated such a fantastic chance and wanted to give India something back in return. I saw an opportunity when my host brother and host grandmother were giving free English lectures to kids in our house.
I immediately felt that I could contribute something to the education of these children. At first, they were obviously a bit shy but soon they got used to me and we would have an enthusiastic study atmosphere which I barely got to see neither in Switzerland nor India.
My host brother Satyam told me that they were studying here every day with such ambition, which really touched me.
After the first lecture was over, I felt convinced to have made a small change in the world.
The next time I planned to teach the classes, we got stuck in traffic and run late, but even after the classes were finished a few students were still eagerly waiting to see my host brother and me to ask some questions. After they left I would have loved to give such earnest students the chance to go to a proper school to study. But it is a pity that in India education is still mostly dependent on the depth of your wallet.
Finally, on the second last day of my stay in India, I was able to attend the lecture one more time. Much to the surprise of the children, I brought them Swiss biscuits to share and we had some great bonding moments for this last hour. I am now sure that even if they got difficult starting terms in life, with their dedication and hard work they can achieve great things.
For my future, I will take my host grandmother as a role model to help to close the gap between the rich and poor and improve the education standard. It is still unclear where and how this exactly will happen but Satyam and I are determined to make it happen somehow.
~Felix Meierhofer, Kantonsschule Wettingen, Switzerland
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