A good family friend of Reality Tours & Travel CEO, Stephanie, Aliza recently spent three weeks in Mumbai exploring the city while learning about and volunteering with some of Reality Gives’ projects. A resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, she recently graduated from high school and will attend Middlebury College in Vermont in the fall.

A resident of Sion, Krishna recently joined the Reality Gives team. She is in her final year of graduation in commerce. A teacher of Grade 1, Krishna also went through a training in which she “learned more there than in [her] whole life.” At the commencement of her year with ELS, Krishna had no confidence. Through the application of her training and practice in the classroom, she now manages her class with ease. When not in the classroom, Krishna enjoys reading both novels in Hindi and bedtime stories in English.

One of the youngest members of the ELS team, Farheen is 19 and has 5 siblings. A native of Mahim, Farheen is currently pursuing graduation in the arts. She is unmarried and enjoys playing badminton and carom with children. As several other teachers mentioned, she enjoyed learning theory behind the Muktangan method during her training. At first, she found difficulty in presenting a lesson in front of students and collaborators. Today, however, support from fellow teachers and staff members has transformed her into a confident, capable teacher.

Akila, 23, has recently completed her undergraduate in commerce. After one year of training and just a few months of classroom experience, Akila has experienced no great challenges. At the beginning of the school year, Akila’s Grade 1 students knew very little English. Through Akila’s instruction, the children’s English is improving and they now utter words and phrases in English (as opposed to their mother tongue). As fellow teachers can attest, she leads a very active class. Outside of her class, she is also active and enjoys dancing, listening to music, and reading.