Ryan
Marketing major
Jan. 17, 2007

After a long day of traveling it is always nice to sleep in a warm clean bed. After a full night’s sleep at Asha Kiran, we were ready for the day; and a full day it was. Before I get into the day’s events I will explain the Asha Kiran Special Needs School.

This is a school that was started by Prem and Rita James, who felt compelled to open a school for disabled children in India. It was founded as a Christian organization in 1993. The school facilitates the teaching of children with nine different disabilities. In 2001 the new building was constructed and gave the school the tools needed to teach children in a clean and comfortable learning environment. The students range in age from kindergarten to seniors in high school. There are currently 73 students enrolled at Asha Kiran.

The day was spent touring the classrooms and getting to know the kids. A feeling of warmth and caring can be felt and seen all around the school. The staff is amazing, and the children are always wearing smiles. After touring the facilities and making some new friends we enrolled in cricket 101. Some of the local boys gave us a crash course in proper cricket strategies and tactics. The afternoon was spent trying to keep up with our professional cricket friends, which included proper breaks for tea; the British influence is everywhere! We were treated to a warm meal with our new friends and tried to catch up on a little shuteye for our next big day.