25,000

25,000.  That’s how many tribal (indigenous) children are educated completely free from a private institution here in Odisha.  The institute is called Kalinga Institude of Social Sciences (KISS) and was set up side by side with the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University) by Dr. Achyuta Samanta.  I’d recommend reading a full history of KISS here: http://www.kiss.ac.in/aboutus.html

It’s really incredible in the way it works.  KIIT University – where I study – is a very prestigious and private university in India.  The profit collected from students attending KIIT is funneled into KISS, providing free room and board, education, and vocational training to the 25,000 tribal children from around Bhubaneswar.

A few days ago we were lucky enough to witness all 25,000 students gather for a morning assembly, and it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  If you could ever manage to get 25,000 American children in one small space, there would be chaos.  But these students were the most patient and attentive children I’ve seen in a long time.  They were also quite fascinated by the four strange looking foreigners.  There’s something a little unsettling about 50,000 eyeballs staring at you!

KISS is also where I’ll be doing my volunteer work here.  I’ll be able to teach English to the students for a few hours every week.  They also said I could teach any other talents or skills I have to the students.  Too bad I left my longboard at home…