From : "iona norton"
To : surendra@mandore.com
Sent : Fri, January 13, 2012 5:46 am,
Subject :
Dear Surendra,
VOLUNTEERING COMMENTS
We have recently spent two weeks participating in a volunteer program run by Mr Surendra Gehlot of the Mandore Guesthouse. The program involved teaching English to children aged between eight and eleven, in a school around twenty minutes' drive from the Guesthouse.
Each weekday at around 10am we would be driven to the school by one of the Gehlot family or a guesthouse employee. This would normally be Surendra's son Sanjay. We would then stay at the school for around three hours, supervised by the person who had driven us. We endeavoured to cover basic English topics such as the weather, colours, shapes, etc. We prepared worksheets and, in breaks, played with the children outside.
We have found all of the aspects of the volunteer program (and our stay at the guesthouse) highly enjoyable. The accommodation and food were delightful. Moreover, all members of the family, and employees of the guesthouse, were most welcoming. Surendra's son Sanjay was particularly helpful in all that we did. He and his family were eager to help arrange any additional resources we required for teaching. He also showed us the village that was the childrens' home, in order to better understand their background.
We were free to spend the rest of our time in whatever manner we chose; and the family was most helpful in recommending and even organizing other activities. These included being taught cooking in the kitchen and going on a weekend trip to Ranthambhore National Park.
