Shree Vivekanand Vidhya Mandir

If you travel out past Latipur towards Jodia in Jamnagar, you’ll find us in the village of Pithad. Shree Vivekanand Vidhya Mandir is located at number 29. It’s a very quiet place, surrounded by fields and open land. The school itself is just a simple building where we gather every morning for the day's work. Most of the kids come from the farming families around here. They walk or come on bicycles over the dirt paths. We don’t have any of the big city noise or traffic to deal with, which is nice, but it can get quite dusty when the wind picks up. Our classrooms are basic, with just the essential desks and chairs. We spend a lot of time teaching the fundamentals. The teachers often live in the village or nearby, so we are very connected to the parents. We see them at the local temple or the small shops. Sometimes we have to deal with power cuts, so we just move the classes outside under the trees where it’s cooler anyway. It’s a modest way of living and working. We don't have fancy sports equipment, but the kids find ways to play with whatever is available during their break. The school year follows the seasons, and we all know when it’s harvest time because some of the older boys might be needed at home for a few days. We just do our best to keep them learning whenever they are here.