MJD's Blog

This is a test

mjdorman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:29:12 +0000

Indian welcoming dance

mjdorman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:50:00 +0000

Irish Dancing

mjdorman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:43:00 +0000

Leah and Niamh demonstrating the very best of Irish dance to two girls from Bratachari Vidyasaram with Bengali music
http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv10.nonxt3.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Db84aeedf189ab668%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1271572111%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D32C8B46D3CF38706AE7EA97FCB9064D43321FFCC.5C3A705A9DF14F3778E4E00792D4AF3CF1DA4E96%26key%3Dck1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Db84aeedf189ab668%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DcP4jkk5TzwRu_Kaz4NYGGPrCcUk&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den&nogvlm=1

Fireworks

mjdorman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:20:00 +0000

After the deliberations on human rights and gender discrimination were concluded and the Bratachari Charter was decided we celebrated with singing and finally with fireworks.
http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv8.nonxt4.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Dc8fb8b1d09d10d48%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1271572111%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3DC40042DCAFD09E9BB29FC243BB3DFF97011E2C3.78528B3E8113CA1B07BFB7DEB69096232D2A5434%26key%3Dck1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Dc8fb8b1d09d10d48%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DphyiukII1k1KkH-2MorshrqJO5c&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den&nogvlm=1

Conference on human rights and gender discrimination

mjdorman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:13:00 +0000

The long planned and eagerly anticipated conference on human rights and gender discrimination took place on the 8th and 9th February 2010 at the Bratacri School, Kolkat, involving four schools and with over 100 delegates present.

It was a huge success and after much delibertaion and a whole lot of fun and games the Bratachri Charter of Human Rights was decided upon.

John Scottus students shared their songs, their dances and their games, while in turn the Indian students taught us theirs.

We ate delicious Bengali and Chinese food with Indian sweets and drinks. We have all become accustomed to the local food and there was nothing lft to waste.

The conference concluded with a soccer match between Ireland and India with Ireland winning 3-1 in a fiercely fought struggle. The Bratachari boys gave a gymnastics display which left us breathless and we finished with fireworks as darkness fell around 6 pm. A final group singing of ‘We shall overcome’ followed by emotional hugs and handshakes ended two days we will never forget

The final few minutes on the building site

mjdorman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:01:00 +0000

http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv8.nonxt7.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D398718e88f507984%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1271572111%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D856D5DC4730288420D3D59D19EF7439B1B9148BA.3BF27CFF7F1E9EB52CB1F17FB1C782DA618D069C%26key%3Dck1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D398718e88f507984%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3D2cFZKYf2wI3rUIFFpwOIaPuLhlk&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den&nogvlm=1

Life in a Village

mjdorman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:55:00 +0000

Leah receiving the soccer trophy as captain

mjdorman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:54:00 +0000

Some projects we are looking at

mjdorman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:18:00 +0000

Science/Health
Causes and prevention of disease, focussing particularly on Malaria, Cholera and Polio. Is there a child vaccination programme in West Bengal? Infant mortality. Does the government have a birth-control policy? How are older people cared for? What is the life expectancy of people in India and in this area in particular? How is the mental health of people, especially teenagers, in West Bengal? Does the pressure of the education system create unbearable stress for many Indian young people? i.e. rates of suicide and depression.

Geography/Social
The need for schools inrural India. How will the school we are building help the people of Lanchipur? How will greater education affect people here in the country-side? Tsunamis and hurricanes. What long term effects did the 2005 tsunami and last year’s hurricane have on this area? Is there now an early warning system for tsunamis? How might global warming affect this area? Types of transport.Roads and road building in West Bengal. Cattle and oxen – uses. Wild life and plants.

History/Social/General
How the past affects the present and what the future holds for India. Aspirations of Indian teenagers. Women in indian society. Family life in Indian countryside. Compare life in Kolkata and villages. With ‘progress’ will the Bengali people lose their charm? Will India become completely westernized? Will ‘progress’ harm rural village life? The day of a typical village child in rural West Bengal. Arranged marriages…are they still the norm and what benefits are there in them? How does democracy work in India? Did India benefit from English government and colonisation?

We will be reporting to you under these headings the results of our ‘on the ground’ research from rural India during the coming week. Please keep in touch and help us by asking questions or sending something you may have discovered. Be patient because the internet facility here is basic and a long way from where we work

Questions for 6th class

mjdorman — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Lanchipur village is beside the sea on the Bay of Bengal. Most of the men in the village work in the fishing industry. If they are fishermen they often spend nine days at a time out on the ocean.
The women are at home doing all the household chores you see in the pictures and movie clips. They also tend their vegetable plots and help at planting rice in the watery paddy fields.
The primary children go to school at 11.00am each day and finish at 2.30 pm. The secondary school that we are building will have longer hours but not as long as we have at home.
Cricket is the favourite game of the boys. Yesterday we played the team from the local town and they were amazed to see two girls on our team. Although we were beaten in a great match Leah Telford scored one of our goals, the other was by Fares Aggad.

Questions for sixth class:
Look at all the pictures and videos and send us answers to the following questions:
1.What fuel do the village people use on their fires?
2.Why do you think cows are so contented in India? Find out why Hindhus consider that cows are sacred.
3.How did cricket become so popular throughout India to the extent that it is now the most popular game in the sub-continent?
4.Lanchipur is right beside the sea. Look at the video of coastal defences and say why you think they are afraid of the sea?
5.What do the photographs and video of the women at the pump tell you about the availability of water?
6.Look at the video of the villge girls on their way to school….what class do they say they are in and why do they bring a plate to school? What do you see in the video that tells you they come from poor families? If they started school in Class 1 at the age of 5, what age do you reckon they are now?
7.Look at the woman washing clothes by the pond. Why do you think she slaps the clothes on the wood? Does your washing machine at home work anyway like this? Have a discussion in class on the pros and cons of hand washing as against machine washing
8. Look at the video of the village shop and say why you think the brown rice is left lying in the sun.
9. What items are for sale in the shop. From what you see who would you say are its principal customers?
10. Twice you have heard it said that the Tulsi bush is very important. Why is this and would you think it is true?