The weather was cloudy from the morning itself and rain was predicted. The Duchess of Cornwall was being awaited at the Doon School. She was scheduled to arrive at 12 .45 pm but due to the delay in the earlier programme (at IMA), she arrived exactly an hour late. By this time, it began to rain.
As soon as she arrived, she went to the residence of Headmaster Dr. Peter Mclaughlin for a cup of tea. Strong cold winds soon blew the rain away and she continued with her tour of the school. She interacted briefly with prefects and house masters lined up en route to the Art School where she met children from schools for underprivileged and women from micro finance and vocational training projects. The Duchess then reached the Circular Garden where she interacted with Waste Warriors. She was received by Jodie Underhill, founder of Waster Warriors .
She witnessed the paintings being made by children of Aasraa Trust who are supported by Doon School boys and teachers. She made encouraging remarks and spoke to the children. Among their numerous local and regional programmes, The Duchess is particularly interested in the boys’ support for women’s empowerment through microfinance and vocational training of girls in villages, as well girls’ education in the numerous slum and village schools directly supported by The Doon School.
‘Waste Warriors’ is an NGO committed to ending waste and visual pollution in Dehradun and other districts. The Doon School has committed itself to a long-term relief and reconstruction effort to rebuild villages, schools and livelihoods in the disaster-hit Uttarakhand region. After this, the Duchess went to the Main Field of the School to witness a PT Display of the Doon School Boys. At the conclusion of her visit she was at the Rose Bowl where were gathered the entire school administration, staff and children from underprivileged schools. Here she was welcomed by the School Captain and she witnessed a music performance for about ten minutes.