It isn’t really work, exactly. There is work involved, but all of that so-called work: planning, preparations, fundraising, travel, organizing, budgeting, etc etc, all comes with such high reward when at the end of a 2hr workshop with 175 students, you are left with a feeling of such joy and contentment that none of all that effort is really so significant.
Today’s Peace Exchange workshop at the Ladakh Public School was really quite special. Ladakh Public school is situated on the main road in Leh and is perched on a nice plot of land with pristine views to all sides. Mountain-scapes fill the eyes from almost every spot in the school yard and the peaceful and pristine atmosphere of this Leh town is reflected perfectly in the students of this “private” school. To quote the Founder and School Director “In India ‘public’ means ‘private’ not like in your country.”
We arrived at the school around 1040am and we’re escorted to the meditation hall to ensure the arrangement of the tables and chairs were to our liking. Two rows of tables on either end of the room left ample floor space for the remainder to sit on the astro-turf floor cover where they were all too familiar with sitting.
Students filled in single file as we organized and separated art supplies. Older kids entered first and quickly took to the chairs and tables. The remainder of the class 8, 9, and 10’s filtered into the space on the floor. Without an introduction we were off.
There was a steady and continuous murmur throughout the workshop. I took it as a sign of interest, understanding, and curiosity. I had no trouble gaining their attention to explain the project. The concept is simple and this group of highly intelligent and adept young people got it with ease. A few of them shared some thoughts on peace, but once they got started on the peace cards, the wisdom and messages of peace that were shared are some of the most beautiful and moving to date.
In a school where is seems not a visual art class exists, the art work created by this group of students was phenomenal.
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