International visitors are not uncommon in Chikhale Village, a part of the ICA’s network of village development projects since 1979.  However, their presence in the online Global Classroom of the Chikhale Ashram Shalla marks a major accomplishment for the students and their supporters both in India and around the globe.

Located 50 km east of the Mumbai International Airport, the Chikhale Ashram Shalla has been providing much needed educational opportunities for tribal children since it began with classes for 25 Standard One students in 1989 with one teacher and one cook. At that time, Chikhale Village was beyond the outer fringe of India’s growing urban development – only a bumpy road with a narrow bridge over a rocky creek bed connected it to the congested two-lane Mumbai-Pune highway that carried trucks, buses and vehicles about 2 km away.  By 2013, the train station near the village had opened providing commuter service to Panvel and Mumbai and the bridge over the monsoonal stream had been widened (the road is still bumpy).  The village now has a year-round piped water supply and phone service. Commuter trains are available at the Chikhale Train Station, just a short walk from the centre of the village.

Since the school opened, ICA India has been working with the Government of India to provide quality educational opportunities for tribal children in a residential setting.  By 2010, the school had grown to be able to offer a complete 12-year education in both science and arts curricula. These options have allowed students to attend institutions of higher learning in both technological and business related fields. In June, eight students – five boys and three girls – were accepted into engineering schools to begin post-high school education, a highly significant stride for tribal youth in India.

During the current school year, 749 students are attending the Chikhale School – 640 reside at the school and the rest come to class each day.  About 40 per cent of the students are girls. Working with Indian service organizations and private companies, ICA India is able to provide all of the students with three meals each day prepared in a sophisticated kitchen with gas stoves.  Through the ICA’s contacts, the school’s partner organizations also provide all students with school supplies, sports equipment and uniforms plus regular medical attention.  The students participate in statewide inter-school athletic competitions and have won numerous trophies.

In November 2011, students in the science stream took part in a Skype conversation with a high school in North Carolina, USA.  Using a wireless adapter on a laptop computer in a third-floor apartment near the school, the students had a one-hour conversation with similarly intrigued students half-way around the globe.  In order to provide a springboard for the discussions, individuals in each of the schools wrote essays about how they related to the natural world around their homes and schools.  These essays provided a common basis of experience from which to begin dialogue and interchange.  Similar exchanges were attempted in the 2012 school year, but Internet connectivity problems limited the discussion times.  Nonetheless, the Chikhale students continued to hold the vision of participating in a Global Classroom.  Encouraged by the vision of their own active participation in the growing global society, 100 per cent of the science students passed their end of year exams.

During the 2013-14 school year, the Global Classroom program was expanded to include both the science and arts students in Chikhale.The computer lab has been upgraded and the students can type their essays into electronic form.  The conversations are being held with two high schools in the US.  The Global Classroom now includes 17 students from the Honors Seminar in Sustainability at Forsyth Country Day School, eight students from the Agriculture Class and FFA Chapter at Ayden-Grifton High School, 10 students from the Arts Faculty in Chikhale and 10 students from the Science Faculty in Chikhale. 

As the Chikhale School is beyond the reach of stable high-speed Internet communication, the students travelled to the nearby Panvel Industrial Estates where they could be assured of a consistent connection and a reliable source of power. The two conversations in November were the highlight of the academic careers of some of the students (and faculty).  The keen questions and insightful responses ranged from the details of recycling programs to the way of worship in temples.  The conversations also brought about new appreciation for different kinds of foods and athletic competitions.  In the end, everyone saw committed and caring students who, even though they differed in language skills and cultural patterns, shared a commitment to academic excellence and social responsibility.

In a world where climate change related events take ever more prominent roles in the daily news cycles, the students’ conversations about their relationship to the natural world around them, and their role in providing long-term sustainable solutions, provide initial stepping stones toward a healthy understanding of the world in which they will become citizens and leaders.

For additional information and current updates about the Global Classroom, contact:
Vijay Lokhande (vijay.lokhande01@gmail.com)
or Nelson Stover (StoverN@Bellsouth.net)
or visit www.greenschemesnc.com/grassroots-demonstration.html.