Mrs Cruse (Head of Year 9)

In July, 30 girls from BGS set off on an exciting adventure to India, exploring cities such as Bangalore, Mysore and the Yelagari Hills. The aim of the trip was not to be tourists but to immerse ourselves in Indian life and culture and to work in two orphanages and a rural school. 

Before the trip the girls made the decision that they wanted to give a life skill to some of the girls they would meet in India and through research and talking to the organisation we were travelling with they knew some girls in India did not have access to sanitary products.  Therefore, our girls learnt how to make washable sanitary towels before visiting India. They spent a day in a girl’s orphanage making washable sanitary towels with the orphans. Our girls found the experience humbling and felt honoured to have worked with girls who had so very little but were so happy and welcoming.

We also visited the Yelagari Hills where we spent four nights at the St Charles’ Convent School where the girls were given the task of teaching lessons to the pupils. Our girls produced their own resources and had to teach without materials they would normally use in their day-to-day life at BGS.

The trip was also about seeing the beautiful sights of India. We enjoyed seeing paddy fields, wild monkeys sat on the roadside, the local people grinding flour outside their home, boys playing a board game on the pavement.  The tuk tuk experience was great fun and we spent many a moment closing our eyes on the roads in Bangalore as the cars, mopeds and tuk tuks just kept coming.  It was a trip of a lifetime and a most amazing experience.