It’s six o’clock on Tuesday evening. In a simple stone house on the edge of a village near Auroville there is loud chatter and laughter. Twenty girls, ages ten to sixteen, sit in a circle on the floor. They come here every day after school for homework help and English conversation lessons. Ruban, owner of the house and manager of the community center, starts a ball game. ‘A game before we start sets the right atmosphere: relaxed and fun.’
The community centers of Isai Ragam are the initiative of the Dutch Ivar Jenten and Brigitte Vink, who have lived in India for years and run various projects for village children. Ivar and Brigitte are associated with Auroville, an experimental international city in Tamil Nadu where around two thousand people from more than sixty different countries have lived and worked together since 1968.
Ivar Jenten (76) came to India in the mid-1970s to learn about the philosophy of yogi guru Sri Arobindo. Aoroville had just been established and the area consisted mainly of poor villages and slums. Ivar: “There was a lot of alcohol abuse among the men, the women had neither rights nor resources and the children did not go to school. I couldn’t look away and do ‘nothing’…”
And so Ivar founded dozens of evening schools for the children and, together with German acquaintances, a knitting project for the women. Ivar: “I wanted to give them their own income so that they would have more independence. I made the first knitting needles myself from wooden sticks! Soon we had four hundred women knitting sweaters for export.” The knitting project still exists and is now an important part of Auroville’s export businesses.
Ivar also built the first real school in the area and later set up the Isai Maiyam Foundation, an organization with a children’s home, a music school and a day care center for disabled children. Due to family circumstances, he moved back to Europe for a number of years in the 1990s, but since 2003 Ivar has lived permanently in India again. Since then he has been committed to helping the local population in all kinds of ways. Ivar: “The Tamils have something special, a certain kind of calm and surrender that I can learn from.”
Twelve years ago, Brigitte moved to India to help Ivar with the many activities surrounding all projects. She knew Ivar from the Netherlands and was inspired by his stories about India. She went back and forth as a volunteer for a few years. Until she decided to stay. Brigitte: “It happened very naturally. The periods in India became longer and longer, there was – and is – so much to do… I am now a single mother of a son and I have my life here in India. Ivar and I complement each other well. He comes up with the projects. I take care of the coordination.”
The idea for Isai Ragam arose during corona. Brigitte: “There was nothing to do for the children for two years, so it was extra important to offer something. And even now that the corona crisis is over, the children keep coming.’ There are now seven locations. One gives music lessons, the other computer lessons and homework help, the next dance lesson and some a combination. Because the foundation has little money, Ivar pays for almost everything himself, from his pension.”
Brigitte: “To reduce costs, we asked villagers to make a room or space available as a community center. In a number of villages we have built a floor on an existing house to create space.” One of the knitters from Ivar’s first project donated a room for music lessons and in the house of the Indian Ruban the ground floor has been converted into a homework institute. There are educational posters on the wall, and there are low tables for the children on the floor.
When Ivar approached Ruban with his plans, he was immediately enthusiastic. Ruban: “I grew up in Isai Maiyam’s children’s home. Ivar is like a father to me. I like being able to give something back, I know from experience how difficult life is for these children. During the day I have an administrative job at the hospital, in the evening I have the community center. It’s busy, but when I see the happy faces of the children, it makes up for everything!”
In another village Gurumathi runs the community center. He lives on the ground floor with his wife and son, on the first floor there is a computer room with laptops (donated by a Dutch woman) and an extra floor is being built on the roof for music lessons. There is a swing and slide in the garden, which are used extensively. There are also plans for a volleyball court, but money still needs to be raised for that.
Brigitte: “The playground is for all neighborhood children, even children who do not come to our lessons. That is important for goodwill in the community. Not all parents let their children come to our classes. The girls have to help with the housework, they have to fetch water, cook and wash clothes… Parents are often suspicious: who are we and what do we want from their children? Are we taking care of the girls proparly and not letting them get into contact with bad boys?”
Ivar: “The fact that we mainly focus on girls is a conscious choice. Girls are generally more motivated and serious. But it also has to do with changes in society. Since the introduction of mobile phones, boys in India have been confronted with explicit sexual images on the Internet. It’s a big problem. Girls are harassed more often. We keep a good eye on the girls. We cannot afford them getting into trouble. Our organization would get a bad name.”
The government’s rules have also become much stricter. Where projects used to be mixed without any problems, boys and girls now have to be strictly separated by law. The choice for girls was obvious. Ivar: “The position of girls and women in India is worse than that of boys and men. Women get fewer opportunities. That’s why we focus on girls. We help them progress with all kinds of lessons and support them financially with their education.”
Music is an important part of Isai Ragam’s projects, literally ‘Melody of Music’ in Tamil. The children can choose from guitar, melodica and (electric) piano. Brigitte: “We think it is important to bring children into contact with music and instruments that they would otherwise not get to know. With our music lessons they can push their boundaries. Music is good for their development. It has been proven that children who make music can learn better.”
In the house of Shanti, who used to work in Ivar’s knitting project, a room has been converted into a music school. Punitha, her daughter-in-law, gives music lessons together with Brigitte. Twice a week for an hour. Five or six girls come at the same time: one plays guitar, the rest melodica, a small wind piano. It sounds great. Brigitte explains that the instruments always remain on location: “We don’t have enough instruments for all the children. In addition, an expensive instrument in the children’s home could lead to a burglary. The girls can come and practice two evenings a week. They come very faithfully!”
All in all, the children are happy with everything they get. Thirteen-year-old Monica has been coming to Ruban’s community center for a year. She summarizes the children’s sentiment nicely. “I am very happy with the community center. I come every day! It’s so nice here. The English conversation class is my favorite. At school the teacher explains everything very quickly. Often I can’t follow it well. Here they take their time, I can do everything at my own pace. I can practice out loud and ask things. I learn more here than at school!”
More information about Isai Ragam: isairagam.org
You can donate here: isairagam.org/donations
Photo by Isai Ragam: music lessons with Shanti
