A few words from one of our members, Sri Nandini, about yesterday’s trip to MGR Nagar:
Although weak in numbers, we made progress today. Arjun, Saikiran, Rohini, Roshni and I showed up at five o clock and convinced the children into bringing their exam books for extra help. Dealing with the children complaining about having to study on Saturdays and at a loss of how we were going to help them study for their Tamil exam, we made our way to our usual site. As time went by, children flocked there, and with three additions to our team, we managed to assist them with their English homework and Math. The individual attention made the children take more interest in their homework, and they attempted to comprehend William Shakespeare instead of only memorizing his works.
A few updates to share today about work that has been going on recently:
Roofing project: this project has gotten to a start, we are excited to say. Over the last week, members of Sangam India have been going to the MGR Nagar slum with a team of engineers to plan out a roofing projects. Two visits were made and on the second visit, the engineers began taking measurements that will be needed in order to come up with a plan. Hopefully we’ll have more info about this in a future post.
Educational Programme: The Educational Team came out today with a group of volunteers and spent some time with the children in an Independence Day-themed day mean to inspire civic values and national pride. More on this in an upcoming post, with pictures as well!
Health Camp: The health camp has been scheduled for this upcoming weekend. More information will be made here as it is available.
Part of a series about skits produced for the Ramavaram children.
Skit 9: Self Confidence
Narrator: Radhika was a girl in school. She worked very hard, but she lacked self confidence.
Radhika: Mom, I am very worried about this biology test.
Mom: Radhika, you studied several hours for this test, right? Why are you so worried?
Radhika: Mom, you do not know how hard these tests are. They are impossible!!
Mom: Now you are just exaggerating, Radhika.
Radhika (hurried): The bus is here. I have to go to school. Bye mom!
Narrator: Radhika worried on the entire trip to the school, and by the time she got to class, she was convinced that she would fail. In addition to this, several of her classmates make fun of her because she had failed the previous test.
Radhika: O my goodness! I am going to fail this test. What am I going to do?
Teacher: Okay, everyone get ready for your test. (Teacher starts to pass out the tests.)
Srinivas: Hey Radhika! Are you going to fail this test too? Hahaha
Abhishek: Yeah, Radhika. There is no way you are going to pass this test.
(Several students point and laugh at Radhika, and Radhika starts crying.)
Narrator: Radhika did not do well on the test and went home completely dejected. When she got home, she went to her mom and told her what had happened.
Radhika: Mom, I did so bad on today’s test. I don’t understand.
Mom: Radhika, when I asked you why you were so worried this morning, you said that the tests are impossibly difficult. But there are no such tests like that. What you are lacking is self-confidence. You have to believe in yourself and believe that you can perform well on the test. If you focus on the negative thoughts, the result will also be negative. You must always work hard and be positive and have self-confidence. Do this, and you will succeed. Do you understand, Radhika?
Radhika: Yes, Mom, but what do I do when others make fun of me?
Mom: Don’t think about what they say. They do not control your grades. Think positively and focus on the test. You will be fine.
Narrator: For the next test, Radhika studied very hard, but she also thought positively.
Radhika: Mom, I think I will do well on today’s test.
Mom: That is the spirit dear. Now remember don’t think about what others say. Believe in yourself, and think positively. You will do great.
Radhika: Thanks Mom. O, the bus is here. Wish me good luck!
Mom: Good luck, Radhika!
Narrator: Radhika went to school in high spirits and prepared herself mentally for the test. When she arrived in school, her classmates once again started to tease her.
Srinivas: Hey, there is Radhika. How are you going to do on this test Radhika?
Rad
hika: I think I will do better.
Abhishek: No, you are not. You are going to fail just like the last two times.
Radhika: No, I don’t think I will fail. I think I understand the concepts, and I think I can do well.
Srinivas: Whatever. I guess we will see.
Radhika: Yes, we will.
Narrator: The students take the test, and Radhika thinks positively throughout it. She ends up with a 97 on the test and is very happy about it. Here, Radhika believed in herself and used that confidence to succeed on her test. In the future, she always tried her best to be optimistic and confident.
Yesterday (August 8th, 2009,) our Educational Committee was invited to go with Paathai on their trip to the Wildlife Park, Guindy. Adya, Ashita, Lekha and Vidya had a wonderful time spending time with the children of the MGR Nagar slum and getting to know the people from Paathai as well. We were also happy to sponsor the travel expenses of the trip.
Hopefully we will have a writeup from one of them later this week. Here are some of the pictures they took on their trip. Click on the thumnail for a full size version or check out the album to see the rest of the pictures.
We’re happy to announce that there has been a change in tomorrow’s educational programme. Instead of the educational programme that we had scheduled, several of our members are going on a day trip with the children. The trip is being organized by Paathai, another NGO which is working in the MGR Nagar Slum. The day trip will be to the Children’s Park, Guindy.
The group at Paathai invited us along for the trip and additionally requested any financial aid that we could offer. We’re honored by the chance to cooperate and collaborate with such a hardworking NGO, and to be given a chance to meet with and work with the children in the slum. Paathai is doing an incredible amount of work with the children of the slum. Our Educational Board, consisting of Vidyalakshmi, Adya, Ashita and Lekha, will be accompanying the Paathai members on the trip, which is leavning from the slum at 10AM tomorrow. In addition, Sangam India will be partly sponsoring the trip.
We hope that tomorrow’s trip will be a great chance for our Educational Board to learn more about Paathai and how we can best work with them, and for them to learn more about the children they’ll be workng with.
Yesterday was a fabulous new beginning for Sangam India, thanks to Prajnya, a “non-profit centre for research, public education and networking, working on issues relating to peace, justice and security” based here in Chennai, India. Visiting member Katie Bush and I traveled to a lovely meeting place called The Madras Terrace House for a seminar hosted by Prajnya, launching their Education for Peace initiative. This is the first time that members of Sangam have represented the organisation in a gathering of other organisations and individuals, and it was a lovely opportunity for us to meet new people in addition to the main purpose of learning more about Education for Peace.
The morning began with Ms. Swarna Rajagopalan introducing Prajnya and the new Education for Peace initiative. Prajnya has recently completed several studies on Peace Education in Tamil Nadu, India, and South Asia.
Ms. R. Akila, a sociologist who works as a consultant in the development sector, presented her findings on “Mapping Educational Policy Structures and Processes in Tamil Nadu.” This was particularly edifying as we are working towards education projects but have very little specific knowledge on the existing education structure and policies. Broadly, she discussed the various hierarchies of school governance, from the Centre to the district and block level. She spoke with a particular focus on understanding where the peace education initiatives can fit into the existing structure, rather than developing and conducting parallel programs, which is understandably unsustainable. The take home message from this presentation was certainly that successful interventions will have to be made at the teacher level, changing attitudes and mindsets to make peace education and value education part and parcel of the whole educational process.
Ms. Anupama Srinivasan, a journalist and filmmaker, presented next “A Survey of Civil Society Peace Education Programs in South Asia”, which was an extensive and exhaustive listing of all of the peace education programs in South Asia. Although there were limitations in that not all programs are documented and publicized, it was truly inspiring and enthusing to find that many programs are, in fact, in place throughout South Asia. An important point brought up by Ms. Srinivasan was that real peace is not the mere absence of war, but also an absence of cultural and structural violence, which is a fact often missed by those speaking of “peace.” There were also repeated mentions of independent and collective security as well as responsible citizenship. The most important message that came out of this presentation was once again sustainability, this time through collaboration and communication between various organizations, groups and individuals working towards similar and synergistic goals. It is important to ensure that groups are not working in isolation and attempting to “reinvent the wheel” numerous times.
Ms. Priyadarshini Rajagopalan spoke briefly on her still ongoing study on “Peace Education Guidelines In the NCERT National Curriculum Framework” which was a snapshot of what precisely is in the current textbooks and guidelines. As her study comes to a close, more information will become available from Prajnya.
Overall, it was a truly eye-opening session, a gathering of dynamic women charged to make a difference. We are looking forward to collaborating further with Prajnya as well as with other women that we met at the seminar, including Ms. Uma Vangal among others. We are also hoping to learn more specific education-related ideas from Ms. Priyadarshini Rajagopalan perhaps in a workshop or seminar of our own.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ms. Swarna Rajagopalan for her gracious invitation to the seminar, and we look forward to more similar events and chances for learning from one another. We would also like to encourage you to visit www.prajnya.in/peace for more information on Education for Peace, and the newly launched Peace Blog at www.prajnyaforpeace.wordpress.com. You can also follow Prajnya on twitter.
Part of a series about skits produced for the Ramavaram children.
Skit 8: Respect
Narrator: It is the first day of school and Ram and Krishna are going to their first class. They walk in, and notice that there is new teacher , Mr. Subramanian. The brothers go into the class and see the other children throwing things at their teacher. The teacher tries to calm the other students down but none of them listen.
Krishna: (to Rama) What are all of our friends doing? Why are they being mean to the teacher instead of helping him?
Rama: I don’t know. Maybe we should try and stop them.
(Krishna and Rama try to stop a few students from throwing paper airplanes at the teacher and running around the room frantically.)
Student 1: (Laughs at Krishna and Rama) What are you both doing? Why are you being such chickens?
Student 2: Come on. Join in the fun. You won’t get in trouble, because the teacher is too scared. Come on. (Hands Rama and Krishna paper and books to throw)
Narrator: Not wanting to be picked on themselves, Krishna and Rama join their friends in throwing things at the teacher and running around. (In the meanwhile, Krishna and Rama start throwing paper and other things at the teacher, while running around.)
(Scene changes to Krishna and Rama’s House)
Krishna: Amma Amma, today we had a new teacher for math. His name is Mr. Subramanian.
Mother: Did you boys help your new teacher get settled and let him know that you will help him with anything?
Rama: (Hesitantly, while looking down) Well, see we actually…
Mother: What is the matter? What happened at school?
Rama: (In an excited tone) The other kids were throwing things at him, and being mean. We tried to stop them , but they wouldn’t listen.
Krishna: So then we joined them. They made us do it. We really didn’t want to amma.
(Krishna and Rama’s father walk into the kitchen.)
Father: What’s the matter? Why do you all look so tense?
Mother: Well, Krishna and Rama were just telling me about their first day of school.
Father: Oh that’s right. Did you boys have a good day?
Rama and Krishna: Yes father, we had a good first day. We have a new teacher in math.
Mother: Why don’t you boys tell your father what happened at school.
Krishna: The other kids were being mean to the teacher and we joined them.
Father: I think the boys need to learn about respect. (The boys and their father sit down on the sofa) Boys, in our culture we show respect to those who are older than us.
Rama: Father, what exactly does respect mean?
Father: Respect means being kind to someone. It means admiring, showing regard, and consideration for other people. For example, you both show respect to your grandparents by greeting them properly.
Krishna: Oh, I understand now father. So, we shouldn’t be mean to our teacher.
Rama: Instead, we should teach the other kids to be respectful and help our teacher.
Father: You shouldn’t be afraid of showing respect to others. You should always do what you feel is right, without regard to what other people say.
Mother: So, what will you boys do tomorrow when you go to school?
Rama and Krishna: We will respect our teacher, and try to make the other kids do the same.
(scene change – next day. Back at school)
Narrator: The boys return to school the next day, and find the classroom in the same situation as it was the day before.
Rama: Krishna, lets try to implement what our parents taught us and be respectful.
Krishna: Yes, Rama. Lets go.
(Krishna and Rama walk into the classroom and go to their friend, Gaurav)
Rama: Gaurav, why don’t you stop throwing things at Mr. Subramanian.
Gaurav: Why should I?
Krishna: Don’t you remember your first day of school here? People were making fun of you and not respecting your feelings. How did you feel then?
Gaurav: (Utterly ashamed of his behavior) You’re right. I should respect the teacher’s feelings, since I know how it feels to be made fun of.
Narrator: Rama and Krishna, along with the help of Gaurav stop their other classmates from disrespecting their teacher. (Show the boys stopping the other classmates) The teacher thanks the two boys for their kindness and respect.
Mr. Subramanian: Rama, Krishna, thank you so much for stopping all the other kids from misbehaving and helping them learn how to be respectful.
Yesterday we went to the MGR Nagar Slum and were able to accomplish several things:
The first thing we were able to accomplish is the Focus Group Discussion that we had planned to conduct with the women in the slum. Through the discussion we were able to learn about the women and their perceived needs, and build a relationship with our most important allies in slum rehabilitation – the women of the community. This was led by Dr. Gayatri, Vandhana and Nivedita. More about this will be made available in a future post by one of the leaders of this project.
The second thing that we did was we ran a tuition class for the children. Because Sudha, the local Balwadi worker, was needed in the Focus Group Discussion, two of our members, Ashitha and Gayatri, took on the responsibility of running the tuition center for her in her absence. They had a wonderful time reading with the kids, and in this way got to know many of them better. This unplanned but fortunate event helped us to learn more about the children in the community.
The final thing we were able to do was to complete the survey. A number of volunteers came on the trip and did a wonderful job of continuing the survey work. Thanks to their efforts, we’ve been able to increase the total houses surveyed to nearly 85%. This project was led by Gautam Bagga, who has been in charge of the survey project, and he’ll be blogging soon about the process and the outcome of this work. We’d like to thank Anwin for coming out for the first time on this volunteer effort!
Thanks to everyone again for their wonderful support, and more information about today’s trip will be forthcoming.
