Editor’s Note: Recently She’s the First wrapped up its spring fundraising campaign, Run the World. We encouraged people all around the country to get active, and run, walk, zumba, do yoga or any form activity to help raise money to sponsor girls’ education — and you came out in droves! We’ve raised over $40,000 and counting to go toward sponsorships. So while it became apparent that fitness and exercise is important to all of YOU, I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at how our students in India perceive physical education. Caroline Orr, our guest blogger on the ground at Shanti Bhavan, fills us in below.
At Shanti Bhavan the school day starts bright and early as PT (Physical Training) begins each morning at 6:30 AM. Quite the early start! The lower grades go to PT in the morning, while the upper grades have study hall. In the afternoon, they switch, and the older kids go to PT.
Despite having to wake up early, the kids at Shanti Bhavan truly value the importance of exercise because they associate their time on the field or the court with laughter, friendship, and teamwork. It means more to them than just a time to stretch their legs and run free. Girls in particular acknowledged that in other school systems in the country, they might have been discouraged from participating in athletics. Shanti Bhavan strongly supports girls’ exercise as a vehicle for empowerment on both physical and emotional fronts. Several older girls now play on their college volleyball and football teams, displaying sharp skills they cultivated through years of practice at Shanti Bhavan.
The ladies of Shanti Bhavan go head to head in a Volleyball game
At 4:00pm the students get another opportunity to stretch their muscles and show off their teamwork skills through sports like basketball, cricket, football, and volleyball, where they cultivate skills of mental toughness and strategic thinking.
Shanti Bhavan Olympics - Football (aka Soccer!) Team
In early June, Shanti Bhavan celebrated graduation by hosting the “SB Olympics,” a series of games that pitted high school teams against the college teams comprised of SB alums. The entire school community became deeply invested in the outcome of these games; “bets” were on the table and all students, faculty, administration, and volunteers took the spectating job very seriously. The game scenes erupted with rounds of cheering, clapping, squeaky feet on the court, and dust clouds permeating the field. It was beautiful to watch the players’ competitive energy then fade into genuine, good-natured respect for each other’s effort.