Projects with the Volunteers - #3

Ashley Erikson comes from Boise, Idaho. She is the third of six girls in her family. She will be back at Utah State in the fall, where she is still debating her future life direction (i.e., major). She is a true outdoors girl--lives in the land of kayaking (certified guide), fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, and anything else she can find to do outside! Loves reading and traveling--she was always looking for her next good book, and she and Rochelle took off for a week to northern Indian and an Ashram! (She was going to meditate and decide on her major...hmmm) Ashley was in charge of the tutoring program with the children for the summer. She instructed the volunteers at the beginning of each session, then spent her days overseeing their work with the children in the mango grove. This summer, the tutors worked in a variety of subjects, as the teacher would send a child with a special need in math, science, english, whatever. We had to laugh a few times when the math exceeded the knowledge of the tutor--compound interest, and quotient something or other (which our American kids would do with a calculator--we don't have those in school here!) The children adored Ashley (just looking at her you would say, "what's not to adore"), and she did such a great job. The teachers were singing the praise of the tutoring program by the end of the summer, but particularly the praises of Ashley.

Ashley was also in charge of the evening meals. That meant planning food for anywhere from 50 hungry souls down to 10, depending on the week and the numbers of volunteers here at the time. She worked closely with the cook on the menu, but one thing, you could always find Ashley at about 5:30 in the afternoon, usually with many helpers--big and small, cutting a beautiful bowl of fresh fruit to go with the dinner, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. The Indian food, while tasty and nutritious, is not known to have many fresh raw fruits or vegetables--something we Americans crave.

Ashley has a huge, giving heart, and comes by it naturally. We received some wonderful gifts from her family for Rising Star--a projector, and an all day outing to MGM (India's version of Disneyland) and three new bikes. She also came equipped to make yummy desserts and other fun dishes with foods from home. How we've missed her chocolate pudding cake! She also showed us all how to have fun with the children--water fights, fairy walks with the little girls, wild races with the boys (she always won) or just swinging from the palms. Thank you Ashley for making life so joyful for us all this summer at Rising Star.

Pictures: Ashley and Kaity Gale, water fight with Joseph Stalin, fairy walk and evening devotional at dinner, one of Ashley's tutors with Archana (she got it!), Ashley in the Mango grove, swinging from the palms, and dressed in sari at last brunch at Marriott.