What are students doing during their summer vacation?

By Dhaniksha Chaudhary, Class XII H, VidyaGyan Bulandshahr, U.P

Like every other student, I wait for my summer vacations throughout the year. The weather turns and the schools goes into recess for over two months. This time is special because it is an opportunity for us to go back home and spend time with our families. Being students of a residential school, we don’t always have the luxury of spending quality time with our parents.

But I assume that holidays for me are very different from what my friends in the city are used to. I like every other student in my school belong to a very poor rural family. While we spend most of the year in the school campus, where we have every facility within our reach, it is not the same back home. Every time I go back home it strikes me that I am incredibly lucky to have to opportunity of pursing my education. Most people back at my home are illiterate.

During our holidays, I volunteer for the Special Adult Literacy Drive (SALD) program. Under this program, I teach two or more illiterate adults from my village. I teach them to read and write in Hindi, basic numbers, common calculations and dealing with money.

Additionally, I also help teach at the local schools and sometimes help out the teachers. I try to speak to members of my community in order to raise awareness about the importance of literacy. I have also conducted sessions with the elders of my village, making them aware about hygiene and cleanliness.

During the holidays, we also have to finish our holiday homework, which often includes: Projects, files, and other course-related work. The holiday homework is usually graded and the grades add up to our marks at the school.

I utilize my holidays to help my community and also to catch up on my syllabus.