Playing the PR game

After 5 weeks I’d grown used to having the kids to myself. When Michael first arrived, and before he was given a timetable, he shadowed me for a few lessons. I found myself getting intensely jealous of the interest the kids took in him…these were my kids…they were supposed to love me! Of course, in the end, I was just proud of them as they asked him all kinds of questions in perfect English and I could see Michael warming to them straight away. For the rest of term I had to put up with playful taunts from my class 6 girls as they pretended to be itching to have Michael as their teacher. I think when you invest time and energy in anybody there’s a natural reaction of not wanting to let them go too easily. Fortunately, having Michael around for all that time before I left demonstrated that I’d be leaving the kids in capable hands and that was, in the end, preferable to leaving them with some faceless stranger.
Much as I’d been a useful PR pawn at the Saraswati Puja in my early days at the school, Michael found himself pushed immediately into the fray as we were both dragged along to the ceremonial blessing of the foundation stones at the site of the new school in Bhaktapur. This momentous occasion was of great significance to Uttam – finally being able to take the first steps towards the next stage of his dream after 5 years of getting the Kathmandu school up and running – and he was determined to get as much positive coverage as possible. Having Michael and I there to represent the schools much-vaunted involvement with foreign volunteers was an absolute must. Despite our driver taking a wrong turning (fortunately, after my previous visit to Bhaktapur, I had a rough idea of the site of the school and was able to set us straight) and dropping us off late, the ceremony went off without a hitch and the 2 dozen brightly dressed pupils who’d come to take part, were considered photogenic enough to make the front page of the national dailies the following day. On top of this, the editor of the Kathmandu post, used Uttam as a shining example in an editorial about the disparities in education for girls and children of poor socio-economic backgrounds. While I wouldn’t wish to be identified as a media whore, it really did feel exciting to be even a small part of something so relevant and important as Uttam’s vision. When I read that editorial my heart swelled with pride for the man who, frankly, deserves all the recognition he can get…particularly if it helps him to achieve his aims.