Bua Sa Hockeyvillage India - the beginning

It is difficult to explain how the whole thing started. It is probably the result of my 2 passions - Hockey and India... My friend and co-founder of the foundation Dilip brought me to the village of his ancestors the first time in january 2009 and I immediately fell in love with all I saw.. The hospitality of the people, the simple life, the smiling but timid children, the relaxing atmosphere, the landscape and the old ruined fort that was reminding me of fairy tales from once upon a time... The village with the sounding name of Garh Himmat Singh is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan - half way between Agra and Jaipur. About 4000 people are living in the village and 5 schools try to provide basic education. Unfortunately there are no teachers that can teach english even if it is on the time table. Mostly the children will end up on the fields, helping their parents or taking care of their smaller brothers and sisters.
I have seen the village for the first time in 2009 and I was totally impressed by the nativeness and the heartiness of the people. I visited two schools and got a first impression of the fort. In April 2009 I came to the village with a mixed hockey team of 13 people. We visited the potter, the mayor and the old temple, which should become our first project. We wanted to rebuild the temple to a meeting place for old and young- independent from religion or age. In the inner court you can find a tower consisting of clinkers- the original dining hall. We put some tables into the tower and our restaurant was opened! Of course the food is more spicy than in the normal tourist restaurants, but also more tasty. During an after-dinner walk through the village, we visited the girl’s school. All girls have to sit on the naked floor while listening to the teacher. The idea of a foundation was born and we also knew a name for it. It should be named Bua Sa- in Indian the big sister of the father who is taking care of the children from the father is called like this. With immediate effect we were called the Bua Sa of the village. After having received the first donations we bought a carpet for the girl’s school, bags for their books and some school uniforms for those who can not afford it. Two times a day the children are getting English classes, but only those who are in the 5.- 7. classes because we had to set a limit. But every day a lot of children are waiting in front of the room without getting admission because the room is too full!