Niko will be joining
Yusi on a research trip to India from January 1-15, 2018. He became interested in India when Madhavi
Kulkarni, Head of People & Culture at Pollinate Energy (and Yusi's research
host), came to our house during a University of New Hampshire conference and talked about living conditions for the
65 million people living in India’s urban slums – and what Pollinate Energy is
doing to provide them with life-changing products such as solar lanterns and
clean cookstoves. We are engaging family
and friends in what we hope will be an educational and inspiring trip for all.
Here are Niko’s words:
I have an amazing chance to go to India in January!
I met Madhavi when she came to my house for dinner. I thought she was very nice. I took her to see my jack-o’-lantern at the
Pumpkin Stroll at my elementary school, which she liked because she missed
Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, while she traveled here. Madhavi works for a company called Pollinate Energy, which sells solar
powered lights for people who don’t have electricity available where they live. I think they’re doing good work because kids need
light to study, read, write, and play games.
Pollinate Energy also sells cookstoves that are safer, healthier, and
easier for families to use than open fires in their homes.
Some of the other things I would like to see in India are:
- The elephant rides because I would like to know how can they hold more than 1000 pounds and I really want to ride one.
- The snake charmers because I would like to know how they hypnotize the snakes with music.
- The Taj Mahal because I hear it is really pretty and I heard a cool story about why it was built.
- The gods because I would like to know what all the gods are named and what they do. I read a book called “Ramayana: Divine Loophole” by Sanjay Patel and learned about Rama and Ravana. I also like Ganesh, the elephant god, and Hanuman, the monkey god.
- The clothes and houses because I would like to know how they are different from ours.
When I travel to India, I think I will learn how different
people live and how different people do different things. I will gain knowledge, happiness, and awareness. I will also eat a lot of naan [bread]! This trip is a hard-to-get chance and means a lot to me. I am contributing $20 towards my airfare, which is 88% of my "Big Stuff" savings. I am also bringing all of my Helping Others money in case I see people who need help. I would like to create a PowerPoint about my experiences. Email my parents if you would like a postcard from India, and leave me some encouraging comments here!
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