We had an exciting afternoon with Samuha, a rural development NGO.
Our class split up into four groups. My group first visited a government school near Samuha's office.
We spoke with the teachers and a parent of a hearing impaired child about the resources that Samuha is able to provide for disabled children.
By providing hearing aids, Braille and Indian Sign Language teachers, and teaching aides, Samuha is able to ensure that disabled children can attend school with their peers.
Our professor, Julian, has school-aged children, and he and the teachers were able to share their ideas about child development and teaching styles.
In addition to teachers chatting, the schoolyard was also a place for cultural knowledge to be transferred from Samuha staff to our classmate Channy, who was trying out a Lungi for the day.
Next, our group crossed the street to sit in the village and hear from women in one of the Samuha women's self-help groups.
One woman named Hanumanta told us about how she has mobility issues. She recently learned her rights as a person with disabilities, and she is now an advocate for disability rights. Despite being illiterate, she goes to the government to demand pensions for other people with disabilities.
Hanumanta's livelihood is in craft making, but she also does advocacy work seemingly around the clock.
The children in the village were fascinated by us and showed off their English skills by asking us where we were from and why we were visiting their village.
Each time we moved to a new area our group grew in size.
Those living in the village were surprised that we thanked them for all that they taught us. They thanked us for visiting their home and asked us if we would be returning tomorrow.
