For Some of You

The experience of being in India so far has been absolutely incredible and I am learning so much about myself, God and other people. Shishya is such a neat community. The school I help teach at has about 550 local students and the home has about thirty boys I help take care for. With all the pollution, shortage/bad water, poverty, crime and corruption in the rest of India, this oasis here is clearly reflecting God’s love in so many ways. The children that live here help work on the farm that produces a lot of our food we eat. Self-sustainability and the importance of taking care of the environment is so strongly enforced. I feel so at home here and I feel very much apart of this wonderful family. The boys that live here at Shishya come from underprivileged homes where their parents, if they have any, are unable to provide for them. Indian families at Shishya, with their own children, raise the boys in a home and volunteers come in as needed to help in any way possible with helping raise them. I have been here since mid November and I go back to Alaska at the end of April.

Ever since high school I always had the desire in the back of my mind to volunteer at an orphanage in India. Connections through my photography teacher my junior year of college got me in touch with Shishya. God had me come to this place for a reason, and the way I ended here was definitely His will. I figured with one year of my Masters degree under my belt, and with no other real obligations to report to, these five months seemed like great timing to volunteer in India. As soon as I get back to Alaska I hope to dive right into my masters program again and finish in two years. The timing has been perfect for this experience and I feel so lucky and blessed to be here.

Besides helping the boys in the home, my biggest contribution has been mostly teaching English to junior high grades but starting this month I will be doing more than just adding to the life skills curriculum and teaching it to 8th graders too. Up until I leave, I will be doing assemblies on life skills topics, which I am really excited about! I will continue to teach moral science (Sunday school) to first grade a few times a week. With my undergraduate degree in psychology, and gradually working on my masters now in school counseling, this place has been a good fit for me and I feel like I am contributing in many different ways.

I am so happy to be here to contribute to the lives of all the children I meet. I’m taking time off from work and school to do this volunteering and there have been some different expenses I’ve encountered. For example travel costs, visas, Shishya room and board, insurance, vaccinations, life skills supplies I will leave behind and not to mention the price for taking time off work and/for school add up. Everything so far, in regards to Shishya, has cost about $3,000 for me. Since some of you have offered, anyone who would like to may contribute to my expenses through PayPal or check. Your continued prayers, thoughts, and words of encouragement are just as important and will continue to impact my service here immensely.

Please continue to check up on my blog. It is the best way to keep up with all my experiences here. The link for donations is below which is a PayPal link to me. If you would rather send a check, the address is PO Box 1667 Haines, Alaska 99827. I welcome any questions or conversation about my experiences, so please feel free to email or write. If you would like a mailed letter please email me with your home address.

To donate through PayPal click here:
--from here you click "Send Money" on the top margin (you’re paying someone in the United States), enter amount and then select payment for Friends and family then keljhansen@gmail.com in the To: space. You’ll need PayPal account to do this, but it’s free and easy to set up. If you’d prefer to skip this method and send a check or money order via mail, the address is listed above.