Monday, 27 February 2006: After an overnight journey, I arrived at Samalkot Junction station, Andhra Pradesh, and was met by two young men from the Institute. The vegetation was lush, temperature perfect, and I was eager to see in 'real life' the amazing work of Dr. Chandra.

The CBC film, 'A Ray of Light', had deeply moved and inspired me, and I knew I wanted to see this work in action. As a teacher and worker for human rights, I saw Sarada Vidyalam as a potential model that could bring education into other depressed communities.

First impressions: We turn into the gates of the Institute, and I see well-kept buildings, flowering gardens, and nicely dressed people going about their business. This is an oasis in the chaos of India! We pull up at Dr. Chandra's home, and I’m met by Dr. Chandra, gracious and inviting. Over coffee we discuss the day, and after a bit of breakfast, we head to the school.

We walk through a garden, and in a minute arrive at the school. First I see a group of older children, seventh standard/grade, sitting in a large circle under a huge tree. They are well separated, which is unusual, and Dr. Chandra explains that they are doing practice exams in preparation for their exams the following week. We move on, and I see the other children sitting in their outdoor classrooms in the main sandy area outside the school building. It is obvious studying and learning is happening.

In response to my query about whether there are behaviour problems, Dr. Chandra points out that sometimes that happens. If a child persists in misbehaving, they are eventually asked to leave. In a few classes, one child sits alone, the consequence of poor behaviour. After a time they are permitted to rejoin the group.

I am all admiration. Here is a school full of children from really poor backgrounds, clean, neat, studying, interested. Quiet – ah! The quiet! Lunchtime is truly just like in the film—the children queue up, wash their hands, get their food, sit in the row, wait until everyone's tumbler is perfectly aligned, say a prayer, and then eat—in silence!

The classes I visit—first standard language and second standard math—are impressive. Teachers demand high-level work, and do not give marks in the spirit of 'social promotion.' The math is a much higher level than that of North America. The work on the board (see photo) that I thought the children had been working on during the first period, turned out to be for the second period; most of them finished it within ten minutes. Wow.

Second Impression: 3:30 p.m.: I return to see the Monday after-school programme. Alas for me, it is a 'drill'; my mild interest soon turns to boredom; I find it difficult to stay with the position-taking, holding, soldierly nature of the exercise. As a movement and dance teacher, I find myself thinking that if only I could have a go with them. . . . But this is Monday, and the rest of the week is different.

Also, it is the end of the day. Surely the children have had enough, and just want to play? All day they have been quiet and good. When do they break free, running, shouting, leaping? In the evening the seventh standard children return to study for another three hours before returning home! My North American conditioning rebels.

Third Impression: I learn that upon leaving the school at the end of seventh standard, the children do extremely well in high school, rising to the top of their class. I also learn that the children are handpicked, passing a 'test' to get into the school in the first place. Clearly these intelligent kids have an incredible opportunity to become leaders in their communities, pulling them out of the endless cycles of ignorance and poverty.

Srikiran Institute of Ophthamology

First Impression: We walk through the main doors – 'Reception' greets us, young women are at various posts in the orderly, spacious hall. Dr. Chandra's tour includes the various components that make up this amazing Institute – a clinic where anyone can get their eyes checked, a small eye glass-making factory, the hospital from the film, the other area where paying patients go, operating theatres, dining halls for staff, non-paying patients, paying patients, and doctors. Dr. Chandra's office is simple, with a video monitor showing him what is happening everywhere. All hums along—from the waiting rooms to the dormitories, from the opticians' dispensaries to the STD booth, and from the dining halls to the trainees learning how to do various parts of the work. (Some of the children from the school eventually become a trainee here.) Nothing is out of place—a tribute, I believe, to the unwavering discipline of Dr. Chandra.

Admittedly I spent much more time at the school than at the Institute. But truly this place is a model for the west. We have to wait months to have a cataract removed. But here they can do three hundred in a day! Srikiran is even more inspiring in 'real life'.