January's Project Accomplishments Exceed Expectation

Last week, all of Project: Swim International's 24 volunteers who had been working in India returned home, marking the end of the organization's most successful trip yet. Going into each project, there are always expectations as far as the amount of difference our volunteers will make. Not only did this group of 24 meet those expectations, but they went above and beyond anything Project: Swim International could have imagined for this trip!

A SUMMARY OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SWIM INDIA, JANUARY 2010:

- 4,779 children were taught our Water Safety Education Program in 100 different sessions.
- Tour boat operators in the southern Indian state of Kerala were taught water safety and basic rescues.
- A "how-to" CPR video was shot and used to teach villages with over 1,000 people.
- 42 swimming lessons were taught with 538 participants.
- Successful partnerships were made in Varanasi and Kolkata, paving the way for future projects.
- Long-term plans were made with the Nepal Swimming Association.
- PSI's volunteers and their work were featured in 10 local and national Indian newspapers as well as Indian TV national news.

It's clear from their accomplishments that our volunteers' three weeks were busy and well-spent. Perhaps the greatest achievement is that our volunteers returned with a deep respect and appreciation for people from a different culture. They were able to work successfully in a challenging environment and gave back something that is very tangible and will ultimately result in lives saved.

Project: Swim International is already gearing up for our next round of volunteer projects in India and Nepal this August. For more information and to find out how you can be involved, please visit our website: www.projectswiminternational.org.

Thank you,
Ben Schaub
President and CEO

Progress in Nepal

I've been in Nepal the last couple weeks meeting with our partner here and exploring the region around Mt. Everest. Our partner, the Nepal Swimming Association, first helped Project: Swim International back in August when we sent our first team here to teach drowning prevention programs. Our missions are similar and the meetings went well. We both envision a long-term partnership where we try to provide our drowning prevention programs to as many children as possible across Nepal.

The last few days, I had the opportunity to do some trekking in the Solu Khumbu Mountain region, home to Mt. Everest. It was an amazing experience! One of the best things was to be away from all the smog and pollution that plagues much of South Asia. See some photos from the trek below.

-Ben


Prayer wheels around a stupa in the mountain village called Namche Bazaar.


Tablets with the Buddhist mantra "Om mane padme hum" carved into them can be found everywhere.


Me at Tengboche. Mt. Everest and Lhotse, the 4th largest peak in the world, provide the background.


Presenting Mr. Ashok Bajracharya from the Nepal Swimming Association with goggles and swim caps for the national swim team to use in their upcoming championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

LAST DAY IN INDIA!

Hello everyone! This is our last blog because it is our last day in India. We are all sad that this trip has come to an end but we are glad to be returning home. We have all had such an amazing experience and we are all glad to have had this opportunity. We have gained so much insight to the culture of India and everything it has to offer. We have all made lasting friendships with our group and we are sad to leave each other and return to reality. We will never forget this trip, how it made us feel, and what we have accomplished here. We taught over 3,000 children and adults and we are so proud of this accomplishment. Thank you all for following our trip and supporting us throughout! See you all on the flip side! LOVE TEAM BELIYA!
Becca, Stephanie, CJ, Nicole, Albert, and Stacy

MAMY POKO PANTS! (our chant)

OUR EXPEDITION!

Jenna, Andrew, Hannah, Lyndsey, Bek-Nasty, and Me (Nick) went on our excursion a little farther north in Dendeli and Hubli. We went white water rafting two days ago! It was extremely fun and than had a campfire and a little scare that night in our campgrounds and woke up at 5am to go on a jungle safari! we saw monkeys, bison, peacocks, and a couple different deer. we had a lot of fun and now we are relaxing in the nice town of Hubli before we catch our overnight train tomorrow to Bangalore where we will part ways with Lyndsey and than catch our flight a little later that day! The end of the trip came up so fast! I don't wanna head back and start school:( but until next trip this one was amazing! had a great experience and taught over a thousand kids! I will always remember it! See you all soon! love and miss you :)

The Varanasi Wrap-Up!

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a few days since our last post. Apologies!!! We have been very busy working with two exciting partners- Buddha Smile School and Raj Ghat Besent School.

The majority of our time this week was spent with the Raj Ghat Besent School in Varanasi. It is a very progressive school and the students and staff have been delightful to work with. The school has beautiful campus that spreads across 325 acres, and borders the Ganges River for most it. Although the scenery is exotic with peacocks running all around, its proximity to the river makes it an unfortunate target for drownings to occur (although none, thankfully have!).

We were able to teach all 300 Raj Ghat Besent School students, along with the 50 faculty and staff that run the school. All of the students, and especially the staff, were very excited to hear our lesson. Every class we taught had students asking countless questions!! This truly made the group feel that everyone had understood our water safety lesson, and that it was something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. The faculty especially, was eager to learn about the advantages of CPR and how it related to drownings.

The school was also kind enough to offer us a delicious Indian meal every day for lunch, as well as many cups of chai and biscuits! At lunch we were able to eat with the students giving us more time to talk and answer questions, which was something very special for all of the volunteers.

When we haven't been teaching, we have been exploring the maze of Varanasi. A few nights ago, the WolfPack took a sunset boat ride down the Ganga to look at the city by night. It was a once in a lifetime experience that offered a great view of the city. Tomorrow, we will be walking a few ghats down to watch the evening Hindu ceremony that takes place every night. Lots of bells are rung, and everyone sends lit candles down the river. We are all excited to see it in action!

With our time in Varanasi ending very soon, I know that we will all be sad to say goodbye. Although the weather (which has been very, very cold) has been a bit of a burden, everyone has gotten a great feeling for this city and, I believe, India as a whole. This group, as a leader, has been a pleasure to work with. They have all done a great job teaching despite the weather and illnesses that have popped up along the way. Everyone should be truly proud of their hard work and dedication to Project: Swim International's mission!!

Until next time,

The Leader of the (wolf)Pack

aka Bree

Today we had a very productive day. We taught about 300 children in a river. Besides the fish nibbling at our legs in was pretty fun. We had lunch in the middle of the jungle which was very cool. The men taught us how to climb the coconut trees and CJ and Albert got to climb about 20 feet up the tree! Then the owner of the school in a local village took us to a very nice lunner(meal between lunch and dinner). It was a crazy but fun day. We will post pictures tomorrow!

Team Veliya

Becca, CJ, Nicole, Albert, Stephanie, & Stacy

Hello family, fans, and friends!!!

Here we are in "little ole'" Kolkata just having a smoggy old time. We continue to teach at the Samaritan Help Mission, with Mamoon our partner. Tomorrow will be our last day with this group as we are all out of students to teach... But we are hoping to connect with another partner tomorrow, and work out a schedule. We are also planning on visiting the Mother's House (An organization of Mother Teresa) which has scattered locations throughout this massive city. This past Sunday we went on a three hour bumpy and scary bus ride to the Sunderban Tiger camp which turned out to have a ton of monkeys but we failed to see any Bengal Tigers... The afternoon and morning boat rides all but made up for the lack of tigers. The "camp" was amazing though, western toilets and actual mattresses to sleep on. No worries we have hard mattresses at our hotel, but we were expecting to be sleeping on the ground. Looking forward to our last week here in Sunny India. :) Over and Out!

Alex, Samantha, Rebecca, Kaitlin, and Momma Dea