Day 9: TeamUP Summer 2017

Day 9, we reached the school at 8 am and got straight into work mode. The rain from the previous night had cooled the summer heat briefly and rejuvenated us. We had a number of workshops planned for the day. We also had a few students left for career-counseling. We started off with a reading comprehension workshop to teach students the importance of reading and understanding the text. Students realized that they can self-study and do better academically if they start reading and comprehending their text books. Another workshop conducted was on sports training, which was designed to teach the athletes the importance of conditioning in sport as well as teaching them new methods of training and conditioning. We noticed that new interactive and fun training was inducing more athletes to be present at the coaching.

After school, we headed home for a quick lunch before heading out to Amritsar to visit Bhagat Puran Singh Ji’s Pingawara. During the hour long ride to Amritsar, we had no idea of what to expect. All of us had heard about Bhagat Puran Singh and the great work he had done. But none of us were really sure if it had continued in his vision. Upon arrival, many of us were awe struck. It had felt as if we had entered into an oasis. We were greeted by an elder lady that worked there. She offered to show us around, and we gratefully accepted. We had the unique opportunity to interact with the individuals staying at Pingawara. The inhabitants ranged from the mentally ill, crippled, chronic illness, abandoned or denounced elderly, and orphans. The faculty and the workers took care of and paid for all treatments and medicine. The cost for all of the hospitals visits and schooling is also covered by Pingawara.

The visit was eye opening. The level of care and hospitality was refreshing to see. It was a lot to take in, so on the drive back we cancelled all of our plans and took the time to take it all in. It was quite an experience, one that the team will never forget and learned a lot from.