She completed the training course in ADECOM from 27th April until 9th May.   She trained the seven trainees in ADECOM and they were achieved their target what they expected in the training.  All the trainees are young and students and they really willing to work with the communities.

ADECOM invited the volunteers regularly from Planet Urgence for different training.  The two weeks course is really meaningful to the trainees.  Their main feedbacks were as follows.

• Sophie course is more meaningful and she designed the course more simple and understood by everyone.
• At the training period everyone spoked in English and it develops the communication skills.
• The project management training talks about the step by step process and we learned the informations.
• Training materials also help us to improve the subject knowledge.
• Group discussions and methodologies of the training was more useful to know each others.

Sophie given the time for ADECOM’s project works.  She spent the time with Lalida.P and finalized the project on Sustainability and Education.  She really motivated the ADECOM team for strengthening the activities with community people.  She talked about the new possibilities for searching the new projects for the development of Dalit Community.

Sophie visited the ADECOM’s partners groups in Tanjore with Jean Baptiste, the PU staff.  Both of them spent the time to discuss with the  Women groups and known about the Dalit situation.

Sophie the French expert from Planet Urgence organization visited India.

I Patrice HERVE come from Nantes, Britany, in France.

I work in Vodafone, mobile phone company; I studied where we need to install new antenna to get a good mobile connection. I completed high degree of computer science.

I was very interesting by indian culture; I wanted to meet Indians and to share some time with them. I wanted to share my knowledge with people who have no luck to follow long studies.

Some computer to sell on the market :

Adecom association :

I hoped to visit around Pondicherry and to improve my english too.

It is the first time I come in India, and I am very happy to meet and to work with Indians. I will teach Computer and language skill to the trainees.

I sleep in Ashram Guest House, a very nice and quiet accomodation fonded by sages:

The first day I understand that people have very different level in computer and in english too. Some don’t speak english at all and haven’t ever use a computer. Some are students, learnt english and a little french, and know computers very well. One developps some computer software !

They all are very interested by computer lessons; some who are already good are helping the others and translate. I do two groups with differents levels too. We practice a lot and do what could be interesting for the students later : letter, CV, table.

At lunch, we eat all together, some rice with vegetable :

On Friday March 21 some students were not here because it’s a big festival for Christians (”good Friday”), for Indians (”Panguni Outhiram”) and Muslam (”Miladi nabi”) too.

On Saturday, students usualy work. But this Saturday, we plan to do something funny all together. As if was raining, we went to cinema, and we watch a nice movie, with a lot of action, fight and songs too.

On Sunday, Lalida and Kerumal, who manage Adecom association, invited me to visit Auroville, some temple and some nice places around Pondicherry.

We met Perumals sister in a poor village, and lunch with the familie. They prepared some good and various foods.

The second week, students learnt about Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Windows and Internet. They are able to do their own bio-data, to show a beautiful table in Word, Excel or Powerpoint, to use some nice pictures. Some are able to use functions in Excel and to do charts. Some create their own GMAIL internet adress.

Friday, final day, students get their certificat and we eat a special lunch : an egg with the rice and a small ice.

Good bye !

Laura’s comments

Last saturday, we finished the first week by a trip around Pondichery with the students. It was the occasion to spend time together outside of the class. First we went to visit one student family. Then we had a quick lunch and went boating on a lake: first time for students so big experience for them and lot of fun! At the end, we visited some temples. So, nice day for everybody!

Sunday was day off, so good occasion to rest and do some shopping.

The second week of class, after some feedbacks, I decided to give some more exercises to check what we learned the week before. We did some group exercices and grammar/vocabulary training around PM. Trainees are still very interested and participate a lot.

Yesterday afternoon, we had the celebration for diploma in advance because Lalida and Perumal left for an international conference in Australia (for 2 weeks). First, we began by trainees and trainer feedbacks and thanks. Then, we gave the certificate to the trainees. I received a very nice present as well! At the end, we shared a french desert we made the day before (chocolate mousse) and some brioche with Nutella, delicious! This day was also the occasion for me to wear sari…I felt like wedding dressed! Anyway it was very nice!

Tomorrow will be the last day for me and trainees. For this occasion, we have decided to do a short class and to go to picnic on the beach!

After almost two weeks here, I feel very happy about this experience and all the people I met. Students have improved their english and know now the basic steps of PM.

The 10 of February, ADECOM welcomes a new volonteer from Planete Urgence in France, Laure, for two weeks.

Laure is given Project Management class. This new session welcomes around 7 trainees, 3 boys and 4 girls, from 16 to 25 years old, still students or workers for ADECOM. The class takes place on the rooftop of ADECOM building. It begins at 9.30 am and finish at 1.30 pm, with tea break at 11 am.

Trainees are very motivated and interested to learn more english, project management steps and foreign culture (specially french because of the nationality of the trainer). They are aware of their weakness in english and so support spontaneously the less advanced trainees.

After two days adjustement, the daily program is roughly defined :

- Feedback about topics we learned the previous days, memory exercises and correction of homework if any,

- Learning new topic link with project management (introduction of new knowledge) ,

- Group exercise (in order to practise interactive exchange and restitution in front of the class) ,

- Project management vocabulary exercises

- Everyday vocabulary exercises in a game spirit (”jeu du pendu” for the french lecturers!)
- End to finish, free talk about culture and manners (to learn about each other and to pratise english)

The idea is to improve trainees level in both fields, whatever initial level is. The trainer encourages them to participate and take the class as a real opportunity to improve their self-confident.

After the class, we all enjoy a collective vegetarian lunch.

On the afternoon, trainees go back home and workers for ADECOM go back to their activities.

After almost one week in India with ADECOM, I can say that this experience is a very good way for me to understand indian (and dalit) culture and manners.