the garden school in colaba, mumbai, india
on the final leg of our journey we visited mumbai. a city of maximum contrast that has something for everyone. the school system is no different. some of the best schools in the country share land with humble ngos and charity schools. such is the case of the garden school in colaba. all of the children who attend the tuition-free garden school come from the local slums. it is a primary ngo school that is run solely on donations from around the world. now including ours!
it is a very special school designed to teach children (ages 3 to 7) life skills and manners to help them succeed in the real world. they also learn the very basics of english so they can move on to a private english medium school for the last 10 years of their education. the majority of donations go to sponsoring the children to attend these fantastic schools. it costs $1400 for all ten years! it’s an amazing thing to do and we hope to continue working with them by finding sponsors and getting these children a better education.
so far we were able to sponsor one child’s education and can’t wait to do much much more. please enjoy the pictures below!
the school entrance.
the catholic schools share the grounds with the garden school. but the children never play together.
ash making some new friends, as usual!
preparing lunch for 3 different schools amounting to over 300 kids.
an enthusiastic student!
these desks are so adorable!
dirt floors and stone walls 
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a and j- these are, again, a different view of the schools. the brightly colored clothing must be a huge psychological support for these people-both adults and children. as i write this, it’s almost time to say welcome home! can’t wait. xo Ma/T
I volunteered for 4 days at the Garden School in Feb. before returning to Chicago. I loved seeing your photographs. Especially the one with the little girl out in the playground. I remembered her immediately.