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A drawing competition was organised on July 21^st at Sandipani Muni school to coincide with Vivek Oberoi's visit. Student from various age groups (grade I-X) participated and their drawings formed part of the colourful decoration prepared to welcome the Bollywood star. Vivek and his wife Priyanka must have had a very hard time selecting the best pictures! Results, long awaited by the participants, were declared on 4^th August. First prize was awarded to Chitra from 9a, while Pooja from the same class got the second prize and Shivani from 8a third prize. The winners received beautiful sets of watercolours, paints and pencils. The competition will undoubtedly motivate not just those lucky enough to be named as winners, but also all the other students at the school, to develop their artistic talents and encourage them to express themselves through their drawings and paintings.

Scientists tell us that much of a child's mental development takes place in early childhood, and we at Sandipani Muni School believe that special attention should be given to children of pre-school age to help them achieve their full potential in later life. We currently have four groups of babies and toddlers, with 35-40 children and two teachers in each group. The spacious kindergarten is located on the ground floor of the school building, with easy access to plenty of open space to allow the children to play outside. After morning prayers, the babies and toddlers are given a nutritious breakfast, followed by a shower which many of them do not get at home. Freshly clean and fed, the little ones are now ready for some learning – despite their young age, they have a short class in the morning and another class in the afternoon, when they learn the alphabet – both in English and Hindi, numbers, and nursery rhymes. The morning class is followed by playtime, lunch, a nap and another class and more play. The children are given bananas or some other light snack before returning home in the afternoon.

"I never want to retire" - An interview with Mira dasi.
Mira dasi, 57, has dedicated her talent and a lifetime's experience looking after children to the Sandipani Muni School. As the oldest child of a large family, she learned to care for her young siblings while still a child herself. She has been involved with the activities of Food For Life Vrindavan since the earliest days. Between 1997-2003, she helped to distribute food and gifts from donors, and when the kindergarten was started in 2003, she became one of the teachers. Looking after a large group of young children six days a week would be exhausting in any circumstances, but Mira described to us some of the special challenges teachers face at this school on a daily basis. Some of the children arrive in a very neglected state or have serious health problems, and even some of the older toddlers need toilet training and to be taught basic skills when they first join. But all these challenges do not make Mira any less enthusiastic about her work. She says that the school is like home to her, and she never wants to retire from the job she enjoys so much. We hope that she will remain with us for many years to come, continuing to make a difference to the lives of so many young children in Vrindavan.

Andrew Callard, who works as a secondary school teacher in Washington, USA, visited us for a few days. Also a musician, he participated in the music classes and taught some new songs to the students which they really enjoyed. As he is a native English speaker as well as an experienced teacher himself, we asked him to conduct a training session for the English teachers at our school. Andrew told us that it was very illuminating for him to learn about the challenges that teachers at the Sandipani Muni School face teaching English; some of the challenges are similar and some of them different from those faced by teachers in the USA, he said. He gave the teachers strategies for explaining the meaning of English words to students by using images, role play and interactive games. He also emphasized the importance of students taking leadership roles in the class and presenting what they learn in front of the class. He pointed out that it was important to present words in a context that students can recognize from their daily lives; studies have shown that it is easier for students to learn if they can make associations between what they learn and their surroundings. While he only spends a limited time in Vrindavan, Andrew promised to keep in touch in the future in a consulting role, and looks forward to see how the strategies he suggested are implemented at the school.

Every day, about 1,300 children receive simple but nutritious lunch at the Sandipani Muni School, and all the food is served by some of the children themselves. A group of teenagers distribute plates, carry baskets of pakoras, buckets of rice, kitchri or vegetables, and make sure all their peers are well fed. Those serving only eat after all the others have finished. We interviewed one of these children, Priya, to find out more about her experiences as a server. Priya, from class 6a, is thirteen years of age, and has attended Sandipani Muni School for the last four years. A tall, delicately built girl, her dream is to become a dancer one day – an ambition being encouraged by the dance classes she attends at the school. She told us that, rather than being selected, all the children who serve food have in fact volunteered for the service. Priya herself wanted to start earlier but was considered too young, so she only became part of the team of servers at the beginning of this school year. When asked why she would volunteer for this, at times quite difficult, task, she simply said it made her feel good to serve others first before eating herself. When we enquired about her family background, we discovered that she is the oldest child in her family and helps looking after younger siblings as well as an elderly and frail grandmother. Her parents are pleased to know that she choose to serve food to the other children at school, she said. When asked if the system of serving food could be improved in any ways, she said she considered the way it is currently being done quite efficient, with a lot of emphasis on making sure no food gets wasted. Listening to Priya, we felt quite humbled by her selfless attitude and desire to serve others without expecting anything in return. This spirit of service is a striking contrast to that of other, more privileged children – and adults – sense of entitlement and demanding everything without any thought of trying to give back to the community. Priya serves as another example that the children attending Sandipani Muni School can teach us more than we can ever hope to teach them, if not academically, but certainly spiritually.

The festival of Raksha Bandhan ("the bond of protection"), a celebration of love and trust between brother and sister, is celebrated by Hindus every year on the full moon day of Shravana. On this day, sisters pray for their brothers' happiness and wellbeing, and tie a thread called rakhi around their wrists. Brothers, in turn, promise to take care of and protect their sisters. Throughout India, the festival is an occassion for family members to visit each other and celebrate together, and it also has wider social significance, encouraging the whole community to live together in peace and harmony. At Sandipani Muni School, rakhis are distributed to all female students, many of whom would otherwise be unable to afford to purchase one. For these girls, likely to be even more affected by hunger and poverty than their male family members, this symbolic expression of trust in the men in the community and showing that they expect support and protection from them is especially important. Rakhis are not only exchanged between siblings but also given to male friends and acquintances. At the school all the boys received one from their female classmates, and even our members of staff had rakhis tied on their wrists by enthusiastic girl students. Let these threads remind us all that women and girls can rightly expect respect and support from the community, not just on the day of Raksha Bandhan but on every day of the year.

15 August, the day India became independent from British rule, is a national holiday in the country, but students from Sandipani Muni School gathered here to celebrate together. Many of them have been preparing for this day for weeks. Four different groups of children performed dances. Those of us lucky enough to be present saw a Bharata Natyam and a folk dance performance, as well as modern dances, with costumes and choreography related to the theme of independence. Both performers and spectators thoroughly enjoyed the program. In a speech, one of the teachers reminded students that being free does not only mean we are free to do as we choose, but also that we are accountable for our actions.

Janmasthami, the day Lord Krishna was born on Earth in human form, is an important day for Hindus all around the world, and it is a very special day in Vrindavan because Krishna was born in Mathura (a town just 8 kilometres from Vrindavan) and spent his childhood in Vrindavan. All schools in Mathura and Vrindavan are closed for Janmasthami to allow the children to take part in the festivities, but at Sandipani Muni School, we always organize a special evening program to allow the children to celebrate the birth of Krishna together. The idea of a birthday celebration is something new to many of these children – their parents are often illiterate and they do not know how to use a calendar. The birth date of several of our students has never been recorded, neither their birthdays celebrated. It is important for us at the school that all the children feel, at least once a year, special and that they are the centre of attention. Creating and performing something together for Janmasthami is a great way for them to use their creativity and make them feel valued. The students put a lot of time and effort into making this year's Janmashtami celebration memorable. Those of us who were present at the school on the evening saw as many as eight performances by different groups of children. Some of these were based on traditional plays about Krishna, and others included modern dance and music. One of the special features of the program was the participation of girl students in all of the plays. Performing stories from the life of Krishna and his beloved, Radha, called the Rasa Lilas, form one of the most important aspects of Janmashtami. Traditionally, all the roles are played by boys (some of them disguised as girls). However, at Sandipani Muni School, we believe that girls should also be given a chance to serve Krishna and the community by performing plays.

Next day, we celebrated another birthday – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was born on the day after Janmasthami, in Calcutta, in 1896. He died in Vrindavan in 1977, aged 81. H.H. Radha-Govinda Swami maharaj visited the school and spoke to the children about Prabhupada's life and achievements. Prabhupada started Food for Life, a food distribution program, in 1972, and it remains an important activity for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness today. Sandipani Muni School developed from the Food for Life program that was started in Vrindavan in 1990.  

Eight new classrooms, to be used by primary school students, were inaugurated by a representative of the Japanese government on 26 August 2011. The Embassy of Japan in India, under its scheme 'Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects', extended grant assistance totalling USD 70,376 (INR 32 lacs) to Food for Life to support the construction of the classrooms. In their press release, the Embassy stated: 'Food for Life has been working to provide education for girls at Vrindavan since its establishment in 2002. The organization requires the new school building in order to expand the opportunities for girls who are illiterate and living below the poverty line.' A mandala was drawn by students outside the newly built classrooms to celebrate inauguration day, and girls dressed in colourful costumes presented Dr Goki Inada, First Secretary (Economic Section, Embassy of Japan, New Delhi) with garlands. Dr Inada gave a speech to the assembled students in which he reminded them of the importance of education and hard work. He referred to primary education as the most important educational stage as it is 'the gateway to a better future', and expressed his belief that Food for Life provides good quality education at Kiki Nangla. "I am happy to see that the grant has been well utilized, but it only provides you with the school building. It is down to each one of you to make the most of your education and the opportunities given to you by the school. With this contribution for the classrooms, the people of Japan and our Government try to improve your quality of life through education. Now it's your turn to make a positive contribution. We believe that each one of you has the power to change the future for the better. No matter how small, efforts to change society for the better never fail to change the world" – he said. He also praised Food for Life's contribution to the community through education, and expressed his hope that the school's success will serve as a reminder of the friendly and co-operative ties between Japan and India.