Victorian Young Leaders to India

VYL to India

Four students, Isabella T. 9J, Dana B. 9F, Jessica J. 9G, and Amy R. 9G have embarked with Ms Sayer on their trip to India. They will be spending three weeks in total journeying through India. Below are some recounts of their experiences thus far.

Day 6: Springdales School and temple visit

Day 6 of The Victorian Young Leaders Program kicked off at 6:30. We began our jam-packed day with the beyond amazing buffet breakfast, followed by a brief on what the day ahead’s expectations would be. Our first bus ride took us 20 minutes to get to Springdales for our second day attending school, although not much of the day was spent on campus. We were given a little time while in the school’s conference room to reflect on our experience so far and the way we are feeling. We then gathered downstairs to watch a short film. The film was in Danish but had a strong message. It was about honesty, resilience, and a boy owning up to his mistakes. Then we went to Chattarpur Farms in South Delhi and met Mrs Rajni Kumar. Mrs Kumar is 96 years old and still helps to educate many children and adults across India. She came to India in 1946, following love, and founded Springdales School. She spoke to us about the importance of education and literacy. She believes the world is a family and encouraged us to create positive change in the world. She was very wise, and we all felt very grateful to meet her today. She inspired us all to be the best version of ourselves. Mrs Kumar’s grandson showed us around her beautiful farm. There were many animals and gardens. Tonight we travelled Akshardham, a Hindu temple. We had to go through very strict security before entering the grounds. The temple was beautiful. We had to take our shoes off to go inside. The temple is 43 meters high and is made from 300,000 hand-carved stones. We ate dinner at the temple canteen. We were able to choose our own meals from the menu, which included a wide variety of Indian cuisines from all over India. 

We are grateful to have the most wonderful guide, Manoj. He has been so generous, kind, patient and accommodating. He has created a wonderful sense of camaraderie among the group, and has gone out of his way to ensure we have had the best experience in India… and it’s only day 6! Isabella T. 9J

Day 10: Springdales School Assembly and travel to Jaipur

Today we woke up bright and early to get on the Springdale’s school bus by 8:00 am. When we arrived at school we had time to rehearse and get ready for the assembly in honour of Minister James Merlino and his delegation. We all had a blast performing, half the group sung a song called Hum Honge Kamyaab/ We Shall Overcome and the other half performed a Bollywood dance. It was such an experience embracing the Indian culture with our costumes and makeup and we all loved being up on stage with our Indian peers. 

It was such a pleasure to be able to meet the Minister of Education and we are all looking forward to debriefing with the Minster when we get back. We want to tell him about everything that we have learned! Without Minister James Merlino this trip wouldn’t have been possible and we are all so grateful for this amazing opportunity! 

After the assembly, we said goodbye to our buddies for the week and we said goodbye to Dr Ameeta Wattal, the Principal of Springdales. When we return from Jaipur she will be in Finland. Her warm and caring nature is passed onto her staff and students and we all felt warmly welcomed from the start. She is an incredible principal who has created a school full of kind students and teachers who want to create a better world.  Following the assembly, we set off to Jaipur! We travelled for roughly 6 hours with breaks to have drinks and snacks.

Once we arrived at Jaipur we stopped off for dinner at the Green Pigeon restaurant and not only were we served amazing food (especially butter chicken) but we loved joining in and dancing with the Bollywood dancers!

We were warmly welcomed at our new hotel in Jaipur, I think we’re all going to enjoy staying at the new hotel as it used to be a palace for the royals and has a lot of character. Overall today was such a great day and definitely an experience we will never forget!

Amy R. 9G