It was another exciting month of fun and games. A special twist this year—girls against boys! Each group was responsible for putting together two songs, two dances and a play for the big show.

It was an interesting exercise in psychology watching each group practice. The boys seemed to be ahead from the start, excited about the new projects and putting it all together fast. They would practice hard...and then play hard and get themselves into trouble. The girls on the other hand took much longer to get going. They fought and fought over which song to sing and which dance to dance. We were scared at the mid point if they would have anything ready, but then the girls managed to pull themselves together—look out boys!!

The big performance day came. The little boys took the stage first and the crowd was overjoyed. Seeing Nitin and Sahil dance could put a smile on anyone’s face! The little girls brought the same reaction—but first round to the boys. The first song was next and the girls won this battle without even contest. Boys 1 Girls 1. The boys play was a typical One! Play—nice but slightly incoherent. The girls however set a new bar for us—the play was meaningful, easy to follow and even drew a few laughs! Girls 2, Boys 1. One! Staff couldn’t believe the girls had come so far. The boys then realized that they needed to pull themselves together and performed the next song with grace and conviction, giving the volunteers goose bumps! The boy’s dance (choreographed by Vinod) stole the show and so the boys managed to squeak out victory over the girls—but it was close!

I was honoured to be able to go to India at the end of February to work with Tania and the volunteers / Staff in Mumbai. It was exciting for me to see the progress made by the children I met two years previously. Even more thrilling was the ‘kinder kids’ who have been raised at One!. They are confident little people with “attitude” who are receiving excellent grouding for future learning.

The school is a school—well almost. Our children are a little noisier, not quite as obedient but they are so proud of ‘their’ school and we are so proud of them.

Having a two apartment school with dedicated classrooms has made a world of difference. There is now room for learning, creativity and fun. A staff of two in a small rented schoolroom to a staff or four and five teaching rooms.WOW!

I helped out in most classes (“kinders”, math, English, Hindi, geography, knitting), at the park, at the beach, visited the ‘houses’, the local municipal hospital, helped identify areas of need and did a little social work.