By YSK Prerana | Fundraising & Communications Manager
Vani* and Priya*, both 12 years old, were smiling confidently at me when I asked them what they knew about periods. They had both just returned from school, having changed into their fresh ghar ke kapde (pyjamas) and were about to sit down for homework when I interrupted their routine to ask a simple question: ‘Do you know about periods?’. They nodded a sure yes.
I chatted further about what and how much they knew. While Priya was a bit shy and probably wary of my presence, Vani took to the discussion as if she had been waiting for it to happen. She explained to me the many body parts and sexual organs present in a human figure, and how they interacted with each other- especially during periods. She talked about possible period pains and the various ways to deal with such pains. Amid this conversation, the girls never once flinched in saying the word ‘periods’ out loud. This came as a pleasant surprise to me as menstruation is still a taboo topic of conversation, and is often treated as a secret or an experience of shame.
This confidence in our adolescent beneficiaries could be attributed to the sessions undertaken by our in-house therapist on topics involving the body and sexual health. Due to these regular sessions that initiate conversations among our Udaan beneficiaries on themes as diverse as periods and career guidance, our beneficiaries are now growing into much refined and self-assured individuals.
*Name changed to protect their identities.
Highlights from this quarter:
1) 3 Udaan beneficiaries were referred to the coveted Udayan Shalini Fellowship program, one of who got selected for the same.
2) 17 Udaan and Umang beneficiaries were placed in boarding schools, thus increasing their chance of accessing nuanced academic and professional networks.
3) Dog Therapy Sessions for Udaan beneficiaries were introduced in the months of July and August. These sessions helped in inculcating habits of care, empathy and kindness while broadening our beneficiaries’ understanding of non-verbal communication.
UDAAN program updates during July-September 2017:
EDUCATION:
32 beneficiaries participated in our monthly written assessment, wherein most of them scored above average. Apart from regular formal tuitions, our beneficiaries also partook in computer classes. While the older beneficiaries utilized these classes to learn better about Microsoft Word, it was the younger ones who were rather fascinated by their first introduction to a computer.
Interactive sessions on ‘Bettering communication skills ’ were undertaken for Udaan beneficiaries. One of the most interesting parts of these sessions, was to write and vocally express the beneficiaries’ experiences of being a part of AAWC. Other activities under these sessions involved learning about formal greetings, improvement of vocabulary, and sentence structuring. The objective of these sessions was to create an environment wherein the beneficiaries felt comfortable enough to converse in English, so as to promote higher chances of their integration into the mainstream professional world.
BOARDING SCHOOL VISITS:
Our beneficiaries placed in boarding schools are regularly visited by their mothers and also the AAWC staff. At AAWC, we invest immense importance on these visits as they establish an emotional bond with our beneficiaries and demonstrate to them the extent of our care. Our staff acts as a support system to all our beneficiaries, and hence these visits are vital for the emotional and social well-being of the students placed in these schools. One of the most common issues faced by students of these schools is the stigma in their community (the red light district) associating boarding schools with punishments. Such a stigma often leads our beneficiaries to believe that they are being isolated from the society by getting placed in a residential school. At AAWC, we put in all our efforts to make sure that our beneficiaries do not grow up with such feelings of abandonment. Hence, we make it a point that our representatives visit and spend time with our beneficiaries placed in boarding schools- especially after their annual exams, or during long holidays. We also keep in touch with the beneficiaries’ mothers and explain to them the importance of such visits.
EXPOSURE VISITS AND SESSIONS:
This quarter’s most loved visit was a ‘Ganpati clay modeling’ workshop facilitated by Ms. Marina Dutta with the help of St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai. Beneficiaries were involved in creating their own clay models of Ganpati, followed by a prayer and eventually the immersion of the idol at Gateway of India. During this workshop, the facilitator Ms. Dutta also narrated different stories of Ganesha from the Puranas, and introduced the beneficiaries to a PowerPoint Presentation on Ganpati sculptures from around the world.
While the beneficiaries learnt of Indian traditions and history through the earlier activity, they also experienced the International by starting to learn French. Shalabh Misra, a dedicated associate of our organization, is two sessions into teaching basic French to our Udaan beneficiaries. In the times of Globalization and recurring exchange of cultures, learning not just numerable Indian languages, but also a foreign language automatically puts our beneficiaries on a pedestal in professional and socio-cultural settings.
HEALTH:
An eye camp for Udaan beneficiaries was conducted in July 2017, wherein more than 80 of our beneficiaries benefitted from the diagnosis. Apart from the eye camp, a monthly medical check-up was also conducted for about 45 of our beneficiaries addressing issues of height, weight, and multivitamin consumption. As has also been mentioned in our earlier reports, we have continued in providing our beneficiaries with nutrient supplements, Moringa seeds and protein additives.
Beneficiaries have pursued with their routine of yoga sessions, with an emphasis on emotional stability and confidence building. By furthering the basic yoga exercises into sessions of emotional enhancement, our beneficiaries have learnt to develop more control over their physical and emotional reactions in life. Such activities often help the beneficiaries in dealing with crisis situations: experiences that most of these beneficiaries are at risk of facing on a daily basis due to their societal status quo.
RECREATIONAL EXCURSIONS:
Udaan beneficiaries continued with their visits to local gardens this quarter. Along with the usual games and physical exercises, we at AAWC encouraged our beneficiaries to observe the flora and fauna inhabiting their spaces. The beneficiaries, then, highly enjoyed interacting with each other about the birds and leaves and trees that they had observed during such outings.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
The Udaan beneficiaries were involved in many delightful and intellectual activities this quarter. From learning to craft origami to a pictorial storytelling session, beneficiaries were absorbed by different forms of art and their effect on the beneficiaries’ emotional health. At one of our centers, Hezel Lobo conducted a life skills session that was aimed at improving self-esteem of our beneficiaries while our beneficiaries from the other center were involved in learning classical Indian music at the very time. While Ms. Lobo tackled themes of leadership and a sense of belonging, the classical Indian music sessions were targeted at motivating the beneficiaries into developing their extracurricular skills.
Ms. Lobo also guided the beneficiaries about possible career options, and how our beneficiaries should start thinking and working on their skill developments throughout schooling. Future planning sessions are important to educate our beneficiaries about the various professional and vocational futures they can hold, thus obstructing inter-generational prostitution. Most of the Udaan beneficiaries have responded well to these sessions, and even aspire to become singers, radio jockeys and architects.
Theatre classes were conducted by Kalyan every week this month wherein the beneficiaries engaged with activities based on facial expressions and improvisation. They also had script-reading and storytelling sessions, which expanded the beneficiaries’ interests in the various skills involved in theatre.
COUNSELING:
Ms. Maana Zaveri conducted group counselling sessions this quarter that centered around building self-esteem and faith in oneself. By utilizing ABT (art-based therapy), Ms. Zaveri prompted our Udaan beneficiaries to sketch and question instances involving their self-esteem, and their reaction to such instances. A sensitizing activity involving writing compliments to each other got most of our beneficiaries giggling and smiling with joy. This helped the beneficiaries in unlearning frustration and jealousy, and to grow into empathetic young adults.
CELEBRATIONS:
Apart from the earlier mentioned Ganesh Chaturthi, our Udaan beneficiaries also celebrated Eid-Ul-Fitr by dressing up in traditional attire and sharing specially cooked Ramzan meals. We also held events on Rakshabandhan, Janmashthami, Dandiya, Friendship Day and Independence Day. These collective celebrations have become a ritualistic part of our beneficiaries’ lives, engaging them with a feeling of belonging and family.
Some photos from celebrations follow:
By Sneha Mahajan | Fundraising & Communication Manager
By Manju Vyas | Project Leader
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