Reading over my earlier post, I smiled to myself as I passed over the lines I wrote about the challenges of the language barrier at Sultan Bazaar where we are working with students from Telugu, Urdu, and English mediums. Just three weeks earlier I wrote, “Stella and I are teaching these classes together and we hope that once they get to do more hands-on activities with the equipment they will learn more concrete skills that are easier to communicate through the language barrier.” Low and behold, the girls at Sultan Bazaar were the first to finish the photostory project. In fact, it only took them three classes to turn out products that are original and a true team effort.

I was most touched by the girls’ ability to work together and support each other in the daunting task of producing a group photostory in a language most girls don’t speak. In each group the English medium students took the lead, but instead of dominating the camera or the computer, they translated dutifully to the other members of their group. All students shared in the entire creative process and Wednesday’s class was a very calm session, with all the girls huddled around the computer in a semi-circle, passing the keyboard to write captions in Windows Movie Maker and helping each other to spell words and locate letters on the keyboard.

How To Achieve Your Ambition

Sultan Bazar: Achieving Your Ambition from The Modern Story on Vimeo.

School Through the Years

Sultan Bazar Photostory: School Through the Years from The Modern Story on Vimeo.

The three groups in my Railway class have also finished their projects this week, after a few interruptions to the schedule due to their Independence Day performance at the Office of the Railway Commissioner. Their performance Monday was quite the spectacle and they did a great job. Stay tuned for video and photos from the TMS camera-crew! For now, you can watch another photostory that illustrates how young girls can overcome obstacles and achieve their ambitions.

Samantha’s Railway Class Photostory: How to Achieve Your Ambition from The Modern Story on Vimeo.