Blessings from beginning to end  

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 His Holiness XVII Karmapa

At the beginning of 2003, in January, His Holiness XVII Karmapa came to our Sarnath school. He came for the forth year running and blessed our work, our stupa and our new garden.

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Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche came and blessed 
our school in December 2003

At the end of 2003, Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche came to Alice Project School Sarnath, and blessed our school, our gardens, and our stupa's. He gave us a teaching on compassion and the importance of understanding our mind. He praised Valentino for the great work he has done over the last 6 years to build up the school from one shack with 70 children to its present size of over 600 children and 30 teachers in 3 schools and 6 acres of land.

We prepared for his visit for many days, repainting the school, cleaning the gardens, getting the stupa ready, and hanging marigolds and putting hundreds of vases of roses everywhere. Have a look at some of our photographs which includes the text of the talk he gave, and Valentino's welcome address.!

Highlights of the year

Alice Project school achieves university status

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Yes, this was the big news of 2003: we received permission to establish a University, with degrees accredited from Sampornanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi.

Starting at the end of 2004, we will offer a three year BA degree (called Shastree) in Philosophy, Psychology, Hindi and Sanskrit. Any volunteer teachers with experience in these subjects – please you are welcome to come and teach! (contact Valentino or Rachel).

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Working to improve the heath and life of 65 Juvenile House children

Some of the older children. The boy in the middle is both deaf and dumb. He was been in the House for 2 years, and was probably abandoned by his family.

One of the women who teaches sewing to the boys proudly shows Rachel, a volunteer with Alice Project, a shirt the children have made.

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This is a new project (started in September 2003) set up with 63 children at Rajakia Bal Sudhar Griha (which means a Juvenile House - like a children’s jail) in Varanasi. These children, aged between 5 and 16 years, are all called ‘juvenile offenders’, but in fact most of them have done little more than be found on the Varanasi streets, often homeless.

Alice Project has received special permission from the District Magistrate to start yoga classes twice a week. But first we are instigating a medical programme. The medical care is in some cases urgently needed: many suffer from jaundice, have skin infections and are deficient in Vitamin A. Alice Project has co-ordinated with Dr SN Singh and Dr Vinod Maurya from Varanasi to visit the centre once a month to check up on the children and prescribe what they consider necessary. Alice will pay for this medical treatment.

These are our first steps. Our future plans are to contact the parents of some of the children, to let them know where their children are. For example one child remembers he had a father who worked as a cobbler in a certain area but he does not know the exact location. Our work is to find this particular cobbler family. If necessary we will work with lawyers to ‘free’ the children to return to their families. Then, may be, some can come to Alice Projects schools.

Ramdular organised a feast for the children on New Years day 2004, bringing food and cooking for them.

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Gayatri Mantra is a very ancient mantra from the Vedas, in praise of God. It is called a universal mantra - all can recite it, Muslim, Hindu Christian, Jain, Buddhist. Ga is prana, our breath, and yatri is like the guardian of our prana. It invokes the sun, Surya, and sun gives energy to all the world.

So we are doing this for world peace, for good mind and good health.

Our first step is 24 lakhs. 24 because there are 24 Sanskrit letters in the mantra. Every letter has a meaning, and Vinit Mishra together with Dr Shukla have translated the meaning of each word for us – see our Translation

Since we began in October, (lead by Pandits from Varanasi we completed 3 lakhs by the end of 2003.

Before this, we did a recitation of Ram Charit Manas, begun during the 9 day Durga puja. This is from Ramayana a book by Tulsi Das, and tells the story of the victory of good over evil. Once again we recite this mantra for world peace. We receitd the book 5 times, that’s 5 times 24 hours - 120 hours altogether, changinig singing groups every two hours.

Lakhs of 
Gayatri Mantras

Om bhoor bhuwah swah

tat savitur varenyam

bhargo devasya dheemahi

dhiyo yonah prachodayat

Special Project Curriculum projects and Volunteers projects

Curing Snake Bites programme

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Two students from Alice project completed a two month course in curing snake bites with ayurvedic and allopathic methods.

In July 2003, Brother Bimal and the director of a small hospital in Varanasi came to the school to meet with Valentino, and it was decided to send Bipin from Sarnath and Dinesh from Bodhgaya on the 2 month programme.

Bipin an Dinesh learned how to cure bites from Cobra, Kraits Vipers, Scropions, and various poisonous insects. They learned how to determine the type of animal bit from the human reaction. With the ayurvedic treatment they used LEXIN - made in Bihar - which was poured onto a cloth and inhaled by the patient. Other treatments used are with ghee, cow urine (to be drunk), tulsi and other common plants, for example black pepper and neem.

Some plants can be used as a poltis tied around the wound to stop the contamination of blood by the poison.

DID YOU KNOW? The patient should never sleep during the treatment, or they would die.

DID YOU KNOW? If the snake bites the head or back, this is not treatable, but if feet and hands, this is curable.

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In the school every evening, without exception, we all hear the singing voices of Ramdular’s theatre group. This group of now 15 men, all local labourers, practice here to perform in all the villages around. Their stories are like a mystery play with a moral theme, always promoting peace and harmony within communities. Plays about dowry, literacy, safe sex and AIDS, drugs, tradition, communal fighting, the life of the Buddha and Hindu and Muslim stories.

Through the sari weaving enterprise (see below) Ramdular has set up a co-operative, which gives each player Rs100 for their performance.

Every month thy tour round local villages with their music and drama. Sometimes they play to audiences of 600 people. Once there was over 1,000.

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Ramdular's Theatre Group: Alice Project Cultural Team.

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Ramdular's Banaras SariBunkar Society.

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Ramprasad, Rajkumar, Vinod Kumar, Mukesh Kumar and Balkishan are all weaving saris in the new building at Alice Project School. Ramprasad and Rajkumar, who are from sari weaving families, are training others in the use the powerloom.

For two months now they have been weaving brocade on two looms. Everything they make is sold and helps to give a living to all 4 people, plus sponsoring the Theatre group. Sari weaving not only generates a living for people, but it also keeps alive an important tradition.

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I want to introduce you to my Tibetan Class. This class is an important part of the Alice Project to help us to understand the initiation prayers and teachings of the great Lama’s in the original language.

The name of the teacher is Mrs Sonam Dolkar, who is Tibetan, but lives in Sarnath. There are about 20 students, some residential, and some from different classes who have been learning since April 2003, with their mind and heart.

I appreciate the teaching very much. The lessons take place in our free time, but we do not feel this to be a burden to us. We feel relaxed and learn new things. Whenever we feel tired we have many ways of refreshing ourselves, for example practicing the welcome song in Tibetan, reading a Tibetan poem and listening to Tibetan stories and jokes.

Our teacher is very friendly. If we are ill she treats us with Tibetan medicines.

If anybody is interested to learn Tibetan, they are most welcome to join our class without hesitation, and we say this with our open heart. You can pass your time, not wasting, but learning something.

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Learning Tibetan

Report from Sanjay, Alice Project School Reporter (XI)

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For three days in December there was a teacher training session led by Luigina in Math (All teachers including Bodhgaya and Small Sarnath school teachers attended). Luigina taught an inspiring type of practical math which she herself had learned in Italy from Camilo Bortolato, who developed the system and has written 8 books on the subject.

The method involves several types of apparatus to develop the visualisation of numbers skills. This encourages mental calculation and lessens the need for students to count on their fingers or write numbers down.

Vinods father, a carpenter, made several number frames out of wood with numbers 1-100 divided into 4 sections, for the project, which are now used in teaching.

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Visual Maths based on
Camilo Bortolato's method

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Vipassana meditation for teachers and children

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For the 6th year running, Bryan Tucker came and taught both teachers and students the value of meditation. For the teachers he organised a days silent meditation retreat attended by all teachers including those who travelled all night from Bodhgaya. For the students he worked with the older children, guiding them with trust and how our mind works.

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Rachel returned to the school to teach for the 3rd year the 3rd module of her environmental curriculum, all based around interconnectivity and how we relate to our physical world.

After Bhopal (and pesticides) and Footprints (of a tin of cocacola compared to a clay chai cup ), she worked with class 7 on a subject close to her own heart: plastics.

Once again we compared the pathway of a plastic cup and a clay cup (made by a father of one of the student's). We collected all material objects we could find made of plastic and the objects that they were replacing. We asked what we could not do without plastic.

We looked at what plastic was made of - which came as a shock to most of us: what chemicals were involved and what effect they had on us, an our environment from the cradle to the grave (from their production to their disposal).

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Sarah, who has helped to compile this newsletter, has returned for the 3rd year running as a volunteer to teach young students English in Alice Project. There is red in her hair! (She is married), and now living in Hydrabad. We wish her all falicitations with her future married life.

Sarah's English

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Guiseppe and Christina returned to our school to teach us many things, but all through games. The teachers also received training in 'co-operative' games, which are designed to indirectly teach the students about interconnectedness and dependence on one another.

All games required co-operation - physical and mental. For example the great fun 3-legged race.

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'Games as a big occasion to educate!'

Marli's desks and benches

Marli (from Italy) came for the 2^nd year running and gave her warm hearted  English teachings to the small Sarnath school. Through a generous collection at her daughters wedding, she raised some funds for the school, with which she brought some benches and tables, for the young students to sit and work at. She watched them being made with a hawk eye! 

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Making bread and pizza

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Lucca from Italy came and light up the Italian pizza over with fire! He taught the residential students how to make bread and pizza, while he learned how to make Indian cheese (paneer) More Photographs

Linking with 
t-shirts
to Marcel Pagnol school, Cannes, South of France

Nicol came to Alice Project in December 2003 to introduce students from Marcel Pagnol school, Cannes, in the south of France, to Alice Project students of the same age, around 8 years.

Over 40 of the French students had designed and painted t-shirts with their name and an image on them, and written a letter in English. (For both French and Indian students, English is their second language.) Nicol presented these t-shirts and letters to Class V. Now Class V begin the work of writing letters back to the school, explaining cultural differences like festivals, and everyday life. See the web for photographs.

 Photographs of Class V.

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We have 27 residential students including 12 young Chakma students. 1. Abhay (Class 3) 2. Mangal (Class 3) 3. Sanjay (Class2) 4. Supamangal (Class 2) 5. Bimal (Class2) 6. Nanmooni (Class 3) 7. Ravi (Class 6) 8. Dineshwar (Class 8) 9. Satya (Class 7) 10. Surat (Class 8) 11. Arbindu (Class 3)

All these young children are from Arunchal Pradesh and are refugees from Bangladesh. Once a year they travel back to see their families. This project is supported by a Delhi NGO. Bimal Chakma, the teacher, looks after them all here.

Residential Students including 12 Chakma's

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Snake news

Lama Zopa offering a puja to our Naga stupa, with Valentino in thoughtful mood beside him.

2003 was a very good year for us. We got the opportunity to see many Lama’s and Hindu guru’s. But one event happened to make us sad. From the beginning to now we have seen so many snakes in the school, but no-one ever got bit by one. In a known naga place we built two small stupas and made a big snake puja to thank the snakes for not harming us. But one night in October, someone stole one of our stupas. Still, the other is still there.

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Sarnath branch school now has 63 young students, 4 teachers and and three classes:LKG, UKG and Class 1

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Sarnath Small school

Bodhgaya school news

Bodhgaya school is about 8 kilometers from the sacred Buddhist centre, amid a tranquil Bihar rural landscape. The school was established 6 years ago, and has grown, like Sarnath, both in the number of students and size of buildings. Now there are around 150 students and 9 full time teachers, 4 of whom are resident. The resident students are Rishikant, Brabhat, Navan Kumar, Deepuk Kumar, and Rosham Kumar. The latter three are brothers from one very family with outl and and with little income from their fathers work in cycle repair shop.

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We are collecting photographs of all our staff at all our schools to put on our web:

Administration Sarnath: Vinod (the master of administration), Pappu (our school secretary), Pujari (the builder of our stupa)

Sarnath staff: Awanish (our Principle), Vinit Misra (our maths teachers), Pramod Pandy (our science teacher), Vinod Pal (our history teacher), Kalpana Sharma (our Hindi , Geography and psychology teacher), Alka (our English teacher), Arun (our yoga teacher), Dheerej (teacher of Class V and English), Sunil (teacher of class 4), Ramdular (our theatre teacher and Class 3), Neelam (teacher of Class 3), Bhuwneshwar (teacher of class 3 and science), Raju (teacher of Class 2), Ashish (teacher of Class 2), Sanna Bano (teacher of Class 1 and Chakkma children).

Sarnath Branch staff: Bhimal Chakma, Meera, Anita, and Anil teach LKG, UKG, Class 1,2,3)

Bodhgaya residential staff are: Umesh, Jitendra, Rajkumar and Dinesh. The regular staff are: Pradeep Mukesh. Krishna, Jivan, Ashok. There are two gardeners: Jitendra and Sita

See more Photographs

Our teachers

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Valentino has written three books this year, and for the first time, they  have been translated into Spanish by Carlo Benito de la Feunte, 

Also for the first time the new book covers are in colour. But some things do not change - thank goodness: Nitin, as always, has illustrated them all with his characteristic ink and line drawings.

'Let go of your bag',
published in March 2003, which talks about the importance of eradicating ego. 
Translated and published in Spanish.

'Once there was an Island',
published in May 2003

'C'era una volta un'isola',
translated by Carlo Benito de la Feunte.

'Il Peso dei Pensieri e dele Aziano' Published in May 2003

'Conejo Sabio' (Wise Rabbit), translated by Carlo Benito de la Feunte

Valentino's Books