Contributed by David’s 1961 Classmates

When our classmate, David Nykerk ‘61 died in 2013, the class wanted a memorial in his name to be placed at Kodaikanal International School, his alma mater. After a tree idea was rejected, David’s wife Mary decided a bench would be ideal – perhaps placed to overlook the tennis courts that David loved so much.

However, we faced a problem. For the most part we classmates live in the United States and the bench needed to be purchased in India. Thankfully, Sara Ann Emerson Lockwood ’61 stepped in while she was in Karaikudi, South India for several months working at the Bangala Hotel – an area known for its antiques.  Sara Ann found a beautiful bench, much to her surprise and Marilyn Stenger Watson affirmed the choice while visiting Sara Ann.  It is believed the bench originally came from a maharaja’s house (palace?).

The bench needed a little work, as India’s climate is rough on metal. After it arrived in Kodai, Merrick Lockwood ‘59  wire brushed it and painted it black, and attached a small plaque in David’s memory. A decision was taken to move the location to the area around the flag pole where it now stands by the wall overlooking Kennedy dorm.

~Martha Thompson Wilcox, ‘61 Class Rep

Our family has just returned from a wonderful backpacking trip to India. One of our highlights was our visit to Kodaikanal International School. It was a trip that Dave was hoping to take as a family even after his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, unfortunately that wasn’t possible.

One of our main focuses was to see the bench that was dedicated to Dave which is located near the flagpole. We were very impressed with it! We would like to say “Thank You” for your contributions and to Sara Ann and her husband Merrick, Martha and Marilyn who managed all the logistics!

We had a wonderful four days in Kodaikanal.

~Mary Nykerk

Sponsored by Kodai Alumni International (now disbanded) —

The trip to Dubai may have been one of the most influential trips I have been on in the duration of my high school life. While I have been to four Model United Nations conferences in the past, never before had I the chance to voice myself as much as I did during DIAMUN 2016. This conference provided me with a newfound confidence. Being put into a room with over 90 delegates and still being able to speak my mind and be recognized as a delegate with new ideas to bring to the table was an ecstatic experience I would never forget. What I think made this different from the other conferences I attended was the luck I had to be delegated to Iran in the 1^st General Assembly; one of the topics we debated on was “The question of Iran and its rights to nuclear power”. Not only was I a central figure for the topic, but I was also put in a position where I would be heard and recognized by all members of the committee; something I was not accustomed to prior to this experience. For the first time in my life, I was actively involved and a key figure in writing a resolution on the topic. Not only did the resolution get passed within my committee, but the resolution was also presented in the plenary. The plenary is an event where all the General Assembly’s gather and present the best resolutions proposed in the committee and I had the incredibly rare experience of being able to speak on my own resolution. The delegates were extremely intelligent, the chairs smart, and all members of the staff friendly which overall made the conference a memorable event.

On another note, one must not forget that this conference took place in one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world, Dubai. While I used to live in Dubai when I was much younger, returning years later and seeing how much the city had grown and developed was amazing. When I was a resident, I never had the chance to see the city as a tourist. Given the opportunity to see the city in this new light was an enlightening cultural experience. What’s even more, I am an HL IB Visual Arts student and from day one, I was already taking pictures and jotting away for new ideas and pieces I had been inspired to make after having had seen the beauty and rich culture in Dubai.

All in all, I felt as though this trip was a life changing experience and considering it may as well have been one of the last conferences I attend during high school, I couldn’t have asked for any better way to finish my MUN experience. Considering I was initially not going to attend as a result of financial difficulties, I am extremely grateful for having been able to attend this trip and cannot express enough gratitude for presenting me with this opportunity. It is an experience I would never forget.

~ Subadra Sudhir ‘17

A project sponsored by the Minnesota Chapter, alumni and friends —

Smokeless stoves work to provide an economical and healthy alternative to the common stove used in homes in the rural areas in and around Kodaikanal. Every week, a handful of KIS students work together with a mason to install one or more smokeless stoves. We start off by making the cement that will later help to secure the stove in place. We then help the mason to level the height of the stove by placing rocks and covering everything up with cement, once again leveling to make sure the stove looks presentable and neat. The mason does the final touch-up, perfecting the edges and the cementing of the stove, and finally glazes the stove to give it a clean, polished look. The mason comes back a few days later to install the last component of the stove, the pipe, which extends through the roof, allowing most of the smoke generated while cooking to go out of the house, reducing the amount of air pollution inside the respective houses, and creating a healthier environment with a significant reduction of respiratory problems.

Last semester, from August to November 2015, we [KIS students] have installed 13 smokeless stoves in our local community, to families with young children.”

As the student sponsors of the Smokeless Stove Project, we are really grateful for the funding that the KFI has provided as it helps us so much! We usually have to depend on money we raise ourselves which is a lot of hard work and very time consuming and doesn’t really get us a lot of money. Having the KFI fund frees us up to concentrate on installing the stoves. We want to really thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of our local people.

~Neha Shajan ‘17 & Susannah Francis ‘17

Update: 24 May 2016

As of the last day of school for the second semester of the 2015/16 academic year:

• 12 stoves were installed
• Rs 35,795 was spent, leaving a balance of Rs 3,96,205
• Cost per stove has increased to Rs 2,100/stove (includes costs, installation, and transportation)
• The project can move forward when the 2016/17 school year begins!