Volunteering at Parijat Academy

Volunteering at Parijat Academy

e-mail from Dhaujee Kelly, Bowdoin College, USA:

The mission of the Parijat Academy is to provide all children proper education. Located in rural Guwahati, Assam India, the Academy believes that no child should be left behind due to economic disparities and reaches to build a stronger community and 'good hearts' through helping the children in the school. While at Parijat Academy, I will be teaching English and holding a performing arts class for the children. The significance of gaining literacy is important for these children but I also understand how critical it is for the children to be able to work together and build confidence through talents. I want the children to be able to express themselves freely through art and education. This will not only help the children's development, but it will also allow me to become engulfed in the culture and build better relationships with the children. I have past experience with volunteering and tutoring at several different schools in Baltimore, MD and Brunswick, ME. At home, I am a part of a mentoring program and throughout high school I volunteered at a local elementary/middle school weekly to prepare the students for math and reading state assessments and participate in extracurricular activities such as arts and crafts and sports. The mentorship that the younger students experienced from me helped not only with the scores of their standardized tests but also helped with social and artistic expression. After the mentoring, the children that were once considered 'problem children' are now performing substantially better academically and socially. Using the experience gained from high school, I currently tutor 4th-8th graders that are learning English as their second language. These students have problems feeling socially accepted because unlike their peers, they lack common knowledge of the English language. Mentors like myself help them improve literacy and offer encouragement through this learning process. I have never had experience with international travel volunteering but I believe that my past experience has been a great foundation for the knowledge and sense of service that I seek to gain at the Parijat Academy. I plan to stay at the Parijat Academy for a total of 6-8 weeks, from early June to mid-late July. I will combine the past experience that I have with volunteering and tutoring, the drive that I have to help others, and the passion that I have to provide for children that are in disadvantaged circumstances to build education, sociability, but more importantly a sense of hope and strong, lasting relationships with the children of Parijat Academy.

Dhaujeé Kelly

Bowdoin College
Class of 2011

Brunswick, ME, USA