By:- Ashley Burch
Mera naam Ashley Burch hai. I have volunteered at the Pardada Pardadi Delhi office for the past 2 months, and it has been an incredible experience. I was placed in the Communications department. I work alongside the wonderful women in this department and help them create marketing materials and complete other tasks. They have taken great care of me! They all welcomed me in and helped teach me how the organization works. One of the women even helps me order lunch everyday, which is hard for a foreigner like me. This act of kindness showed me how genuinely kind the people are within this organization.
Although I was based in Delhi, I would occasionally go visit the school that Pardada Pardadi runs in Anupshahr. I would go to hold meetings with teachers and other staff members, take pictures for our marketing materials, and attend important events. School visits were always the highlight of my week. Despite the 3-hour car ride there, going to the school was great. I loved being able to meet and spend time with the girls there. The girls at the school range from Kindergarten to 12th grade, but they are all wonderful. One of the things that I immediately noticed was their positive attitude. All the girls were always smiling and happy to see you.
One time I went and visited a 10th grade class and was so surprised with how eager they were to talk to me. The majority of them spoke a good amount of English. It was so fun to meet them and get to know them better. They even began teaching me how to say things in Hindi, and were kind enough to not make fun of my terrible pronunciation. This is something that I will always remember. Working to break the language barrier and actually getting to know the girls was one of the greatest things about my trips to the school. By meeting the girls and seeing the school, I was motivated to work harder. I could see how my work was benefitting the lives of hundreds of girls. I am proud to say that I worked for Pardada Pardadi and hope to see this organization grow in the future.
