Drew Jensen is Global Citizen’s 2015 Curtis Scholar. The scholarship provides an immersive experience highlighting effective development programs focused on sanitation, girls and women, and education. Drew is traveling with Global Poverty Project staff, meeting key partners and working in India. Below are photos and blog entries from Drew’s journey. This is day 2, follow the rest of his trip here.
Greetings from New Delhi, my fellow global citizens. As I discussed in my first post, day one in India exceeded anything I could have imagined, and day two certainly continued that trend. Hilary and I spent most of our second day meeting with our new friends at The Global Education & Leadership Foundation, or tGELF for short. The Organization is led by Mrs. Gowri Ishwaran, who is herself a former school teacher and administrator. tGELF's organizational philosophy is based on a wholistic approach to education, emphasizing life skills in addition to academics. While tGELF runs a variety of programs, we focused most of our discussion on two of their main initiatives, SKILLD and LIFE.
Launched in 2006, SKILLD stands for Skilling & Know how Initiative for Lifelong Leadership Development. This program is for students of secondary school age, and usually begins for most in the 7th or 8th grade. SKILLD has developed a curriculum that emphasizes skills such as collaborative interaction, self-reflection, working within structured systems, and conflict resolution. The program has been designed with the goal of developing not just great students, but also great citizens.
LIFE, or the Leadership Initiative For Excellence is a 4 year old program for exceptional students from around the world, who are brought together to share and discuss ideas on how to improve social structures through education and understanding. After a rigorous selection process, students that have been accepted come together for a conference where they meet and engage with world leaders in the field of social justice. While the selection process for LIFE certainly considers academic merit, it also places great emphasis on finding students who share tGELF's altruistic values. Students who have shown they are willing to take initiative to improve their communities independently are the type of applicant LIFE seeks.
As someone who believes that education is key to building the world we envision as global citizens, I left our meetings with tGELF inspired. Though I consider myself an eternal optimist, my resolve is frequently tested when I come across the injustices that can sometimes feel so prevalent around the world. Yet, encounters like these fuel my belief in the potential of humanity.
My second day in New Delhi left me with a great sense of hope for the future of our society. I'm confident that with the leadership of those at organizations like tGELF, a world free of extreme poverty is inevitable.
For more information on the amazing work tGELF is doing, click here.
Here are some of my photos from the day:
Sookrit took us to Khan Market where I had my first experience with Persian food. Truly amazing.
Myself, Sookrit, and Hilary at Qutb Minar. We're so grateful to him for showing us around.
Another shot from our quick stop at Qutb Minar.
