May 2012
Margaret Andrews
Position
Overall Rating:
Well organized school and lovely host family
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
It is always hard to know whether one makes a difference; I am hopeful that I did.
Organization and communication:
Uttam is superb at organizing and keeping in touch.
Accommodation:
I stayed with the family that is behind the birth of the school. They were wonderful - kind, generous, and inclusive.
Safety:
I felt safer in the village than I do in big North American cities
May 2012
Margaret Andrews
Position
Overall Rating:
Well organized school and lovely host family
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
It is always hard to know whether one makes a difference; I am hopeful that I did.
Organization and communication:
Uttam is superb at organizing and keeping in touch.
Accommodation:
I stayed with the family that is behind the birth of the school. They were wonderful - kind, generous, and inclusive.
Safety:
I felt safer in the village than I do in big North American cities
I wrote a review soon after I returned - about November, 2009. Please dig it up from your files and add it here.
May 2012
Garvin Brown
Position
Overall Rating:
Parijat is a Gandhian School
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
It is not for me to answer this question. It is for Parijat to say.
Organization and communication:
Uttam Teron is a tireless worker for the betterment of the underprivileged. I have lived with Parijat on 3 occasions and I have personally seen the dedication of Uttam and his family and teachers to the uplift of the children and the parents of the children.
Accommodation:
I give it 5 stars because it is something that Gandhi would give 5 stars to. When the welfare of others is more important to you than your own welfare, only then can you say that you TRULY love. MK GANDHI
Safety:
I have always felt very safe.
I began my connection with Parijat in 2007 when a friend of mine from Gujarat referred me to an Article in Outlook magazine about a young man (Uttam Teron) from Pamohi a small village in Assam who had started a School called Parijat Academy (Heavenly Flower) from his family home. I have since then visited Parijat Academy in 2008..2009...2011 and I am intending to visit again in 2012. When I visit I live at Parijat and experience all of the daily actions of the people involved. On my last visit I slept in Uttam,s office and I am therefore able to advise of the L O N G hours that Uttam puts in to bring his dream to a reality.
On all three occasions Uttam and I have conducted many ..Gandhi Peace Walks in various Schools in Assam traveling by Train..Bus and4wheel drive in our goal to raise funds for the underprivileged schools visited.
May 2012
Nilutpal Das
Position
Overall Rating:
it is a perfect and divine educational institution which runs selflessly.
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
i interacted with the childrens.
Organization and communication:
Uttan teron runs a perfect organization and the communication is real quick.
Accommodation:
perfect.
Safety:
perfect
parijat academy ia a school for the underprivileged children and to make sure the objectives are achived Uttam Teron the founder is working reletlessly.
May 2012
Satyajit Nath
Position
Overall Rating:
I have visited the school several times since 2006 and have had the occasion to work closely with the founder, Uttam Teron, other teachers, and the students, for some key infrastructure needs for the school as well in implementing some student development activities. I have enjoyed every moment of interaction with the people at Parijat.
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
Yes. Through my work in Asha for Education, I was able to help with needed funds for classroom construction necessary for the school to offer classes 9 and 10 (http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=881 for more details). For student development, I was very happy to work with the students of class 9 in the school in 2009 and again in 2010 to start Junior Achievement's workforce readiness training, Careers with a Purpose. Driving these projects and other on-going efforts since have given me the sense that I have made a difference at the school.
Organization and communication:
Uttam Teron does a great job representing the school and its needs in communication. The school blog is also a good source.
Accommodation:
While I have not stayed at Parijat overnight, the school premises are very good and are welcoming for visitors. The Alohi Ghar that was constructed as a guest house for visitors provides even more comfort for volunteers who wish to spend time with Parijat.
Safety:
The staff and the children ensure that Parijat Academy is a safe and welcoming venue for all volunteers. I have faced no safety issues in any of my visits there.
Picture a summer afternoon three years ago in Pamohi, a sleepy area outside Guwahati. A class of shy 9th graders in Parijat Academy are puzzled by my request to look at the bare light bulb on the wall. I ask them, “Imagine if you had to make such a light bulb. What would you need to know? How would you get started?”. Suddenly, this class of shy boys and girls are involved in frantic whispered conversations among themselves. In the next two hours, they come up with many ideas about how they would build a light bulb and a factory for it. A few students are relieved when they realize that not everyone needs to be a science wizard to contribute to such an endeavor; they could play valuable roles keeping accounts or marketing the products. The children are now hooked on this idea and want to try it out on something else. So, we take on the ceiling fan next and we go through what, until then, was boring science stuff for the kids; things like electromagnetism and copper, sheet metal, magnets and other things needed to build a fan.
The brainstorming technique that I used is based on a program called ‘Careers With a Purpose’ developed by the India chapter of Junior Achievement (www.jaindia.org) that focuses on workplace readiness for students.
It turns out that the students liked this brainstorming session a lot. I didn’t realize how much until later when the school’s principal wrote to me that the children had put together their own chalk pencil production line! When I visited the school next year, they gave me a box of chalk pencils from that project. It is one of the most treasured gifts I have ever received.
This is just one example of the many great volunteering experiences I have had at Parijat over the years.
August 2012
Derrika Hunt
Position
Overall Rating:
Parijat Academy is truly a place where I not only feel like a made a difference but a place where I also feel like a difference was made in my life. The principal, Uttam is so supportive of volunteers. He is also very eager and excited when volunteers come and are truly ready to help the children of Parijat Academy. The school is truly fighting to live out it's mission of making education a right and not a privileged for underprivileged children.
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
I feel as if I was provided the opportunity to truly make a difference. I engaged the children in a variety of art, music and writing activities to teach them English.
Organization and communication:
Sometimes Uttam is very busy with other task so volunteers should be willing to take the initiative to engage students in activities.
Accommodation:
Parijat Academy provides volunteers with excellent accommodations. In fact, the accommodations for volunteers is even better than how the people live day to day. The volunteer guest house actually has a full-bathroom and beds.
Safety:
I felt safe. I never felt like my safety was compromised or threatened while volunteering at Parijat.
Parijat Academy is the type of place I've read about in newspapers, but never actually experienced. Uttam has really dedicated himself to building a school from the ground up. The school began with Uttam's dreams and visions of making his community better. It has now grown to serve hundreds of children. It has been a very rewarding experience to be a part of the legacy of Parijat Academy. These children are so brave and so amazing. They go to school in the harshest conditions, yet the come to school with a smile and ready to learn ever day. If anything I have learned far more from the children and villagers than I could ever teach them.
When I arrived at Parijat everyone greeted me with open arms. I felt welcomed and like people were generally very happy to have me there. Throughout my volunteer experience, I have had the opportunity to connect with many of the students and truly get to know them. Though, there is the language barrier, honestly the language of love surpasses it.
August 2012
Garvin Brown
Position
Overall Rating:
Parijat Academy is a Gandhian school run by a Truly Devoted Uttam Teron
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
Uttambhai and his band of workers are truly devoted to the uplift of the Poor children
Organization and communication:
A person who starts from a renovated cow shed with 4 small pupils and builds up to over 500 students is a Gift from God
Accommodation:
Accomodation for me was wonderful
Safety:
Uttambhai and myself went to many locations in Assam and Meghalaya, we travelled by Train .. Buses ..4 wheel drive. We visited Schools and conducted .. Gandhi Peace Walks to raise funds for similar type schools. Parijat is for me a truly Gandhian School.
I visited Parijat in 2008..2009..2011 and will be visiting again 2012
Garvin wwwwalkwithgarvin
