Sprawling Buds School

Sprawling Buds School is over in Bantalab, Jammu. It’s a neighborhood that has changed a lot over the years, with more houses popping up everywhere. The school is tucked in among the residential streets. We have a bit of a garden area, which is where the name comes from, I suppose. It’s not a huge park, but it’s got some grass and a few plants that we try to keep alive during the heat. The building is a few stories high and has plenty of windows to let the light in. We spend our mornings greeting the kids at the gate. Some of them come by bus and others just walk from the nearby houses. We don't have a big mission statement on the wall. We just have a timetable that we try to stick to. The teachers are busy from morning until afternoon. We have a small staff room where we drink tea and talk about the day’s work. Sometimes we have to deal with power cuts, which makes the classrooms a bit dark, but we just carry on. It’s a very ordinary school day for us. We aren't trying to be the most modern or high-tech place. We just want to make sure the kids know their reading and writing. It’s a friendly enough place where everyone knows who’s who.