While our first few weeks in Hyderabad were filled with hotter-than-hot temperatures, things have drastically cooled down with the arrival of a cloud filled sky. The nonstop barrage of rain has been perfect for settling into the classroom and doing some quality brainstorming with students. The girls at Railway High School in Lallaguda were the first ones to get classes underway at the start of the semester and are thus further along with the curriculum than the rest of their peers — which means the beginnings of a photo story!

The girls have been musing and marinating about various problems that they perceive in their community and so for homework we asked them to illustrate two images: one picturizing a problem, and another showing a solution. I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of issues that the students spoke about: Jyoti was concerned about water wastage, Vennela is particularly interested in the plight of child laborers, and Mohammedi had this to say about child brides: “It’s very sad when someone’s childhood ends at the age of eleven when they get married”. Nearly all proposed contacting the government for solutions to the problems with Pooja even inquiring about the best way to organize a march downtown! I’m certain that the class contains the next Indira Gandhi or Pratibha Patil; these kids are not to be underestimated!

Most of the girls centered their problems around the plight of those located outside of Hyderabad: “in the villages there is no electricity, in the villages there is too much pollution” and so on. Picking up on this common undercurrent the first photo story has been tentatively titled “Village Life” and will focus on four main themes: Roads/Pollution, Water, Education, and Electricity. Students then picked which topic piqued their interest the most and split into the appropriate group to do research on the internet and to interview adults. We’re still in the beginning stages but the girls are so enthused and energetic that  big things are sure to come — stay tuned!