In February 2014, Pam Cooper and Val Lambert, together with Pam’s husband Geoff, visited SI Pune Metro East (SIPME).
They attended Pune’s Charter celebration, where they enjoyed a delicious buffet and met lots of members. The highlight of the trip was, however, the visit the next day to some village projects supported by Pune Soroptimists.
We were taken by car to the village of Tulapur where first we visited the school. The grade 8 children were to have routine blood tests that morning to discover their blood group and test for anaemia. The paediatrician overseeing the work told us that anaemia is very common, owing to the poor diet and perhaps to worm infestation. Nonetheless, the children seemed happy, healthy and alert. They were certainly well-disciplined and polite compared with some of their English counterparts. Boys and girls alike were dressed in clean, smart uniforms.
The head-teacher took us to his office where the names of all the children with good exam results in recent years were displayed. Around the walls we saw children’s work covering algebraic equations, formulae of hydrocarbons and anatomical diagrams of the kidney and urinary tract. He explained that this small village school is not government funded – schools in larger places are – and that they need to raise their own funds to maintain and expand the facilities. We were impressed with the children’s work, given how limited the resources are. Outside, the children were learning organic horticulture and were growing tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
In another part of the village lived a Goan Roman Catholic sister, formerly a lecturer in theology in New York, who, now aged 78, was contentedly spending her later years teaching skills to some of the girls and young women. They cooked us a delicious lunch using locally-sourced ingredients. The bread was freshly baked that morning and beautifully crafted. She even offered us a choice of ginger wine or grape wine which she had made herself, both very good. We were shown – and bought – some of the excellent embroidered articles. The Sister accepts her Hindu charges as they are and makes no attempt to convert them. At Christmas, apparently, she puts on an enormous Christmas dinner to which all the villagers come and the whole place is lit up with fairy lights.
We hope to continue to support these village projects in the coming year.