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Tigers in India: Serving Those Who Most Desperately Need It
Jun 25, 2013 1:57 PM
By Nic Scoccimaro '14 - '14
Traveling to India has been a life-changing experience for the group and myself. From sightseeing to visits to rural villages, the entire trip is making a huge impact on our group and the people we are helping.
One aspect of Indian culture that I have always found peculiar is the lack of socioeconomic mobility; derivative of the caste system. The poverty we have seen in New Delhi, Alwar, Agra, and Jaipur, is on a whole other paradigm compared to the poverty in the United States. People seem to take the socioeconomic mobility offered in the United States for granted. The lower-class individuals in India differ from those in the States in that they don't have flat screen televisions and cell phones.
With that said, everything we have done here, and are doing, has shown me how the other side lives. Seeing a laborious lifestyle that many people endure here on TV is one thing, but actually seeing it firsthand has instilled in me an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness and thankfulness. I have never seen people who have never desired nothing more than to work and provide for their families rather than expect someone else to hold up their end.
Sulabh Public School has some of the brightest and most intelligent kids I have ever seen. Their passion is to learn and to surpass those who do not strive to succeed as they do. I have been working with Ali and Brad in organizing team sports for the kids to play and let loose. In between games/matches we have observed the students in class and their respect, passion to learn, and friendship has been nothing short of fantastic.
The whole experience of traveling to India and helping these wonderful children has been completely and utterly inspirational. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to come here and serve those who most desperately need it.
One aspect of Indian culture that I have always found peculiar is the lack of socioeconomic mobility; derivative of the caste system. The poverty we have seen in New Delhi, Alwar, Agra, and Jaipur, is on a whole other paradigm compared to the poverty in the United States. People seem to take the socioeconomic mobility offered in the United States for granted. The lower-class individuals in India differ from those in the States in that they don't have flat screen televisions and cell phones.
With that said, everything we have done here, and are doing, has shown me how the other side lives. Seeing a laborious lifestyle that many people endure here on TV is one thing, but actually seeing it firsthand has instilled in me an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness and thankfulness. I have never seen people who have never desired nothing more than to work and provide for their families rather than expect someone else to hold up their end.
Sulabh Public School has some of the brightest and most intelligent kids I have ever seen. Their passion is to learn and to surpass those who do not strive to succeed as they do. I have been working with Ali and Brad in organizing team sports for the kids to play and let loose. In between games/matches we have observed the students in class and their respect, passion to learn, and friendship has been nothing short of fantastic.
The whole experience of traveling to India and helping these wonderful children has been completely and utterly inspirational. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to come here and serve those who most desperately need it.
