SOUTHWARK LA HEADTEACHER VISIT TO INDIA

A study visit and developing an area link.
Southwark local authority, London.

Dear everyone.

Welcome!

I look forward to meeting you on your arrival. This page has been created as our way of communicating the preparatory information to you all. Please check it once a week or so over the next month as the information may well change as the visit approaches.

Introductions: I wonder if you could firstly send us a mail to introduce yourself to us. Our email address is sangaminfo@gmail.com. This is checked by Kiran and Imogen Sahi, we will run your programme and be with you throughout. This will be helpful so that we know more about you, and so that we have your email addresses for sending you any urgent notices.

The visit: This visit is a study visit for you to set up an area link with a series of schools here in Bangalore, and for you to participate in activities which will help you to learn about India and how to take what you have learned back to the classroom.

What are we planning to do?: We have five days planned as official school visits, one of those will be a meeting during which we will meet teachers from as many of the link schools as can make it. During the other days we will run activities to help you to develop a comparative study of a rural locality in India, a city in India and the issue of water. We can also run some cultural workshops and excursions to markets, temples, farms, and other places of interest. We have attached an activity choice form (at the bottom of this page) to help us to get an idea of what you would like to do during the extra days, and it would be very helpful if you could download that, fill it in electronically and email us back, so that we can finalise the activities.

Where you will be staying, and what to bring: You will be staying here with us at Sangam. We have tried to keep a happy medium between the comforts that you will need, and an experience of life in an Indian village. Some elements of your stay will be very different to your life in the UK, and some things (I hope) will feel very homely. We have attached a kit list as a guide of what you need to bring. Do have a look at the website about Sangam?s accommodation which will give you a better idea of where you will be staying. Please email me if you have any questions about the accommodation and what to bring.

Flights: Evelyn Holdsworth is advising on the buying of flights, so please be in touch with her for information about this (if she has not already done so).

Visa for India: You will need to get a visa for travel to India. The information about this is all on the downloadable form below.

Medical preparations: The best thing to do in terms of jabs for India is to go to your local doctor and ask what the most updated advice is and follow that. It keeps changing and so I wouldn't want to advice you. I would say that you definitely don't need to take malaria tablets for this particular area of Karnataka in South India. If you are just coming here and then flying back you therefore will not need to take anti-malarials. If however you are travelling on to other parts of the South and/or Asia you may need to take them and so take your doctors advice on that. We do need to know about any allergies and dietary requirements that you may have so please can you download our medical and consent form and bring it with you. Please email us with anything that we will need to know in advance. Thankyou.

Personal Preparation- hints on travel in India: Some of you may have travelled in India and/or Asia before and for some this may be your first journey out of Europe. To help you we have written a sheet on travel advice for journeys within India. It is a generic travel advice for all groups and the more well travelled amongst you may know some of it already! I hope that you will find it useful.

The weather: It will be very hot when you arrive with us. April is the middle of the Indian summer,and temperatures will be in the late 20's and early 30's. Bangalore does not get much hotter than this in the summer. We may be suprised by some summer convectional thunderstorms so be prepared for possibly some warm downpours.

Finances: We will be emailing you with an invoice for a deposit this week, which we will need to be processed into our UK account by the end of February, all the payment details will be on the invoice and then in March we will be invoicing you for the balance of the cost of the visit. This payment will cover everything whilst you are with us in India, except for spending money.

Spending money: You might need to bring some spending money for buying artifacts and gifts. You can get cash out via numerous ATM's but please inform your bank to expect withdrawals from India or your card may get routinely blocked.

How your family/friends can contact you: Your mobile phones will find a local network so your phones will work. Our contact numbers here at Sangam are: Land Line- 0091 8028446006, Mobile number- 00919480773776. Please make a note of these and keep it with you when you are here with us so that we can be contacted.

Your arrival in India: When you arrive in India we will have a vehicle waiting at the airport to bring you to us. (Assuming you are all arriving on the same flight.) The driver will be waiting at arrivals holding a sign which will say "SANGAM." He will then drive you to us here at Sangam. We will be waiting for you here. We are on the edge of a village just to the north of Bangalore. The airport is further out of the City to the north of us. (Some directional trivia for the Geographers amongst you.) The journey to us takes about an hour.

We very much look forward to meeting you all by email very soon, and in person on your arrival!

With warm good wishes,

Imogen and Kiran Sahi

Final reminder of what you need to do:

Buy ticket.
Email Imogen at Sangam (sangaminfo@gmail.com) and give her your email address, info about yourself, your flight details.
Download and fill in the activity choice form and email it to Imo at Sangam.
Get Visa.
Visit doctor for Jabs.
Check the kit list and buy any items you may need.
Send through the deposit and payment once the details have been mailed to you.
Download the medical and consent form, download it and bring it with you.(in confidence).

Make a note of our numbers and give them to friends and family

DOWNLOADABLE INFORMATION: