From NYC to India: Welcome our New Guest Blogger!

Natasha Khanna, new She's the First guest blogger, volunteering at the Shanti Bhavan school in India

[Editor's Note: We are proud to introduce you to our new guest blogger, Natasha Khanna, who until last week, lived in NYC where she worked in the field of crisis public relations. She quit her job to travel to India and work with the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project, a school in the She's the First directory, where you can support girls' sponsorships. She will continue the blogging started by Shreya Bhatt, who volunteered during the summer. She will blog regularly about life at the school, especially pertaining to girls. Give Natasha a welcome in the comments!]

Namaste from rural Tamil Nadu, India, She’s the First!

I am so excited to be sharing my experiences with you over the next few months from Shanti Bhavan, a home and exceptional school located in rural Tamil Nadu, India, for the region’s most socially and economically disadvantaged children. The school follows a completely unique and innovative model of combating poverty, educating the poor and fighting social injustice. Admitting students at the age of four, Shanti Bhavan provides a holistic, high quality education until the age of 17 free of cost, and afterwards, funds college education for its students.

Over the next few months, I hope to help you feel like you’re experiencing the same things that I am, and interacting directly with all of these amazing children. I’ve only been here for 4 days so far, but already can’t imagine leaving them come December.

For my first post, I wanted to share with you the morning prayer that the children of Shanti Bhavan recite daily alongside the staff and teachers. The school is non-sectarian, but the inclusive prayer urges students to commit themselves to contributing to their communities and humanity, and to maintain a peaceful outlook on life. This prayer is particularly touching to me because, having come from India’s lowest caste, the children of Shanti Bhavan have not always been recipients of the generosity and peacefulness that the school is now instilling in them.

“God, Creator of the Universe, help us remember that you are present in each one of us. May we respect each other and be tolerant of our differences. May we be good and caring towards each other. May the teachings of all the great world religions direct our thoughts and actions. Grant that we may be spiritual in our interaction and zealous in our work and play. Help us to discover different ways to serve our fellow humanity. Guide us to discover the treasure hidden in each one of us, and to uphold what is right, cherish what is beautiful, and revere what is divine. As we journey through each day of our lives, give us the grace to accept whatever you have in store for us. Be with us in our joy and sorrow. Help us to build Shanti Bhavan into a haven of peace and let the peace touch the lives of all we meet. We salute the divine in each other. Namaste.”

For my next post, I hope to provide a video or some photos of some of the girls performing dances in honor of their mentors for Teachers’ Day, which took place on September 4th. As Shreya previously wrote, Shanti Bhavan’s holistic education approach includes a focus on the arts; I can’t wait to share the students’ talents! Also please feel free to let me know what you would like me to report on from on-campus — I am open to any and all ideas, and hope to have a few of my own after I begin teaching on Monday!