Empower Vulnerable Young People with Life Skills

Kavya  is a bright and talented 12 year old girl studying in the 7^th standard in Government School Ambedkar Nagar, Bangalore. She has been part of Dream a Dream’s After School Life Skill through Sports programme for the past 4 years. She comes from a low income family. Her father had abandoned them when she was very young. Since then, her mother has been taking care of the family and is the decision maker. Her mother works as a tailor in a garment factory to provide food and shelter for the family. Kavya’s elder sister also works as a helper in a garment factory to supplement the family income. Kavya’s grandparents take care of her and her elder brother (who studies in the same school in standard 8^th) when her mother and elder sister are at work.

When Kavya’s father abandoned them, she went into a deep depression. She became very quiet and withdrawn; she hesitated to mingle with the opposite gender, she did not speak to or felt very uncomfortable speaking with unknown persons too. She had a fear about what other people will think about her and she felt that the boys always ignored her and did not include her in any activities. She remained in her comfort zone mainly with some of her best friends. If the facilitator divided the team for some activity, she would not mingle with anyone in the group and if a situation arose where she had to interact with the members in the group, she simply will not take part in any activities, even if someone asks her, she will not talk and remain silent.

Observing this, our programme facilitator decided to talk to her but before that he spoke to her class teacher and her mother and got to know the difficult circumstances under which Kavya, and her family were living. Having understood the reason for Kavya’s behaviour he started to give her more time and space, he initiated many one-on-one conversations with her. After talking with him, Kavya felt the facilitator’s care and concern and started to respond. The facilitator planed some sessions to make her mingle with others; one such activity was ‘finding the route from the map’, where Kavya took her first step towards mingling with her team, was to helping and guiding her partner to find the way without ending up in a blind corner using the map. She was happy doing this activity and began to slowly mingle with others, not only in the sessions but in her class and elsewhere. Due to the constant encouragement from the facilitator and at the same time watching and learning from him, Kavya learnt how to take initiative, take leadership to do things which would help the whole class. She began to come forward with ideas in the team, rising hand to speak in group, taking attendance and distributing snacks and leading the energizer songs etc during the Programme.

Kavya is now a very strong and bold girl. She has become the class leader and takes the initiative to look after the class. She has become more active than ever.

This is what she has to share with us, “I thought I won’t be able to mingle with anyone, I will be alone forever in my life, but I am very lucky that I enrolled into Dream a Dream’s After School Life Skills programme where I overcame my fear and hesitation and built my confidence; I have changed myself to another person who is very strong, confident and bold. I feel I can now face anything in my life.”

TEACHERS QUOTES: -

Kavya’s class teacher says that Kavya initially used to be good in studies but she became very silent, preferring to be alone in the class and she would not eat anything during the lunch break and when I asked, she would say she is not hungry or if forced to eat she would sit alone and eat her food silently and not respond to any of my questions. Her concentration towards studies and her grades started going down. Sensing something wrong I spoke with her mother and got to know that her father had run away. I gave some time to her and talked to the Dream a Dream facilitator and requested if he could do something; after that slowly she started concentrating in the class, she started to talk in class. I saw her behaviour change - she looked confident, she has started getting good grades and supports her friends also, she takes the initiative to look after the class when I am not in class, she makes everyone to sit quietly and ensures that they are doing classwork. She has changed so much that if she needs any clarification or help, she will directly ask that person. She does not hesitate to speak with unknown people and communicates effectively and confidently. Seeing all these changes I decided to make her the class leader and had turned out to be a very good leader.

PARENTS QUOTES: -

Says her mother, “I was very worried and afraid what will happen to Kavya when her father left us. When her father left us Kavya started to keep to herself all the time, never speaking or asking anything. I would try everything to make her happy and feel safe. I tried to take her for a walk, spend time with her, I tried everything, but she did not come out of the trauma after the incident. I got to know that she was like that in her class and with her friends as well when I spoke to her class teacher.

That is when Kavya’s teacher decided to approach Dream a Dream’s facilitator to see if he could help. All that I know was that the facilitator told me that he will take extra care and give more attention and support to Kavya and after that the change in Kavya was unbelievable!

Kavya started to spend time with her grandfather and grandmother, she started to talk with them and started helping them, she feels comfortable to share her feelings. She started to share about what she did in school, happily mingling with her sister and brother. She started to help me with the household work too. When I come home from work, she comes and happily hugs me and starts sharing what she did at school. Her smile gives me more energy to work hard and build a better future for her. Nowadays she is very happy, and I thank Dream a Dream for changing my daughter and bring back her smile and confidence.

Dream a Dream is a registered, charitable trust empowering children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and flourish in the 21st century using a creative life skills approach. Currently, we work with 10,000 young people a year through our two innovation labs – After School Life Skills Programme and Career Connect Programme, have trained over 9,828 teachers/educators from six states and including 19 districts in Karnataka impacting over 2,45,700 children and have impacted over 1 million children through strategic partnerships with state governments in Delhi and Jharkhand. We work on a strong collaborative approach with local charities, corporates, volunteers, governments, expert consultants, and a host of national and international strategic partners.

Dream a Dream has been recognized and awarded for innovation, transparency, and accountability over the years by Ashoka, Global Development Network, Harvard, Rockefeller Foundation, Resource Alliance, and others.

Four years ago, we unveiled our five-year strategic plan, which outlined our vision for 2016-21. Since 2016, we have continually invested in research & advocacy to build momentum around our vision of equipping young people from vulnerable backgrounds with life skills. The Research team has published one research paper and in the process of writing two more to be published in the coming financial year. Yes, the journey this far has been very exciting as we have achieved all our objectives by overcoming the many challenges reinforcing our belief that we are we are on the right path. With this report we would like to share some of our key highlights from FY 2019-20 as we move closer to our 2021 vision.

AFTER SCHOOL LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMME:

In our After School Life Skills Programme, we use creative arts and football as mediums to engage and develop critical life skills among young people between the ages of 8 to 15 years. This programme is an innovation lab where new approaches to life skills development are introduced, demonstrated, documented, evaluated, and fed back into a larger framework for re-imagining learning for young people in the country. To measure the improvements in life skills amongst the young people, we use the Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS*).

*The LSAS is the first standardised impact measurement tool in the world to measure improvement in life skills among disadvantaged children.

KEY IMPACT INDICATORS OF ASLSP: 2020-21

• In the beginning of the year 24 partner school had agreed to engage in After School Life Skills Programme but due to the COVID19 pandemic we could hold our sessions in 20 partner schools.

• 90% of young people shows positive improvement in at least one Life Skills. – We have collected 1557 baseline and 1557 endline LSAS data. We will analyze and share the improvement scores. 

• 85% attendance across the batches. – Despite the challenges faced by us and the young people regarding availability of smart phones or laptop or computer desktop etc., coupled with issues with internet – availability or bandwidth we managed to achieve 70% attendance by way of accommodating various timings suiting the young people or by aiding for internet packs etc.

• 15 session through blended approach across the batches – We conducted on an average 16 session per batch.

• 20 powerful stories collection that advocates the need for life skills education – We have collected 10 powerful stories of change.

HIGHLIGHTS OF AFTER SCHOOL LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMME:

•  Enrolled 3036 young people across 185 batches and 2798 young people completed the life skills intervention for the academic year. It was a very challenging year for both young people and us. We had to move all our programmes online. After much brainstorming we adopted the blended approach to engage young people in teaching life skills. The session was delivered in an interactive and effectively engaging manner throughout out the year. Young people also proactively participated in the life skills intervention whether we delivered it through online or off-line mode. We presented them opportunities to come up with their own creative stuff and continue their learning.

•  199 Scholarships was provided to support young people to continue their schooling and learning. Due to the Pandemic parents of many young people lost their jobs leading to many young people working in nearby shops to supplement the family income. They had no means to pay the school fees to attend the online classes. We were approached by many young people seeking financial help in order to continue their education. We then decided with the agreement of many donors to give scholarships to these needy children. The scholarship has really helped these young people to come back to school and continue their leaning.

•  Introduced ‘Learn at Home Sports Kit’ in our sessions; the resulting lockdown due to the pandemic young people were not able to go out on the field and play their sports and learn life skills. This was leading to many physical and emotional issues and challenges. To address this pressing issue, we came up with the sports kit which included a football, a skipping rope, a smiley ball, and a nutrition kit. This initiative allowed young people to play and learn at home. 20 partner schools benefitted from this. At the same time, it also contributed to increasing the attendance percentage in sports session. The Art kit helped young people to be stronger emotionally and sports kit focused on physical wellbeing of young people. This challenging year was special year for us as we could deliver both the programmes to 3036 young people.

•   Anjali a graduate from After School Life Skill programme has been selected as a HundrED youth ambassador. HundrED is a global education nonprofit. Their mission is to help improve education through impactful innovations. Anjali will represent Dream a Dream at the conference and talk about the current educational needs and importance of life skill in school system.

•   On the occasion of women’s day celebration 30 young people from our 3 partner schools participated in woman’s festival football tournament organized by Barca Academy in Whitefield Bangalore. Young people had a great day after a long gap due to the restrictions imposed by the government. They were able to interact with other team members physically. The partner schools won the second, third and fourth place!

•  Successfully Celebrated Graduation Day 2019-20 and 2020-21. After School Life Skill Programme hosted 59 events to celebrate the Graduation Day in a week at 21 Dream a Dream Partner schools, an event that brought together 1470 Young people, 30 Alumni, 1 Donor, 20 Teachers, 22 Dream a Dream staff and 7 other stake holders. The event designed for 2 hours helps young people to reflect and relook their learning journey at Dream a Dream life skills programme. At these events many young people shared their deep resilience stories, what they learned for their life and how deeply they connected with Dream a Dream. And, Yes, there was lots of fun, food, and interactive activities to celebrate the uncertainties.

•  Dream a Dream Presented a Doodle Art Exhibition organized by one of our facilitator Chandrashekar along with two of our young people Ashraf and Ayesh who had taken their creativity to the next level and came up with amazing Doodle Art Frames. “The learn at home kit” helped them to take this creative risk and come with these beautiful and amazing frames.

 KEY IMPACT INDICATORS OF ASLSP FOR APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021:

• 5,084 young people are engaging through our After-school Life Skills Programme. 

• 1,205 in Life Skills through Sports.
• 1,831 in life skills through Creative Arts Programme.
• 2,048 through reintegration sessions.

• We run our sessions in 20 partner’s schools comprising of with 18 Low-Cost Private Schools and 2 Government Schools across Bangalore city.

• The total number of batches in the programme is 185 of which: 

• 72 batches are in Life Skills through Sports Programme
• 113 batches are in Life Skills through Arts Programme.
• Each batch engages 10-20 young people in the core Life Skills Programme.
• 4542 Session conducted and maintained 70% attendance across the batches.

• We have 33 trained Life Skills facilitators to deliver life skills interventions through blended approach.

Mount Everest School is a private aided school, which houses students from underprivileged backgrounds. The students who come to this school have parents who work as auto and cab drivers, manual laborer and garment workers. Their parents work long hours, trying to make ends meet. Arpita’s parents are no different.

 Arpita is a bright and diligent student of this school. She is 14 years old and studies in the 9th Grade. Her father paints houses for a living while her mother works in a garment factory. There are times when both her parents are at work and Arpita needs to take care of the household chores and her younger brother, who studies in the 7th Grade in the same school. She has been attending Dream a Dream’s After School Life Skills Programme through the medium of Sports since 5th Grade and according to her class teacher - “Over the years, she has transformed into a leader!”

“Growing up in a household when my parents were always fighting, I always felt scared and helpless. I used to sit in a room and cry about it, never letting anybody know I was upset. There was nobody I could share this with, and I didn’t know what I could do to help the situation between my parents, and it was affecting me.”

 “When Nagraj Anna (a facilitator at Dream a Dream) came to our school nearly 2-years ago, I noticed how he used to lead the sessions so skillfully and I was in awe of him. But, at the same time, I was always scared to come into any leadership role, thinking I would not do a good job at it. Moreover, I was always afraid of what everybody else would think. During the sessions, everyone is given a chance to be a leader and even though I always wished I could be one, I tried to avoid being chosen by running to the end of the line and out of Nagraj Anna’s line of sight. It was a struggle with self.”

 “One day, during the football session, we were divided into groups of 4 members and asked to complete a particular task. In my team was a leader who didn’t communicate with any of us and didn’t know how to give the team instructions to follow. All the other teams succeeded in completing the task and we were left with it being incomplete. It made me feel very bad and for a moment, I felt how much better our team would have performed if I were a leader. That was the moment when something shifted in me. The next time I was given an opportunity to lead, I decided to grab it. This kept repeating it to myself and I found myself taking initiative to being picked as a leader and to take up more responsibilities. My confidence increased and as the sessions progressed, I started believing in my own skills and I developed new skills of managing conflict. Inspired by Nagraj Anna’s facilitation skills, I decided to demonstrate these skills at home.”

 “When my parents broke into a fight, as always, instead of running away into a room, I decided to face them and slowly tried to stop them. I first separated them and spoke to them individually and came to a negotiation. This solved the issue. I couldn’t believe it. Soon, I started becoming the mediator between my friends and even during the football sessions.”

 “Nagraj Anna provided me an opportunity to attend Life Skills Day where I got to share my experience of having gained life skills through football sessions and conduct a workshop for nearly 30 students coming from other schools. I was really afraid and nervous but I somehow managed to keep those feelings at bay and conduct the workshops. It was a whole new experience for me, and my confidence just soared.”

 “Looking back at those days when I was always second guessing whether or not I should lead and how I used to hide at the end of the line, to avoid being chosen as a leader, I realised that I have come a long way.”

 Arpita’s teacher Girija says, “I have been teaching in this school for over 4 years now and I can see how much she has changed. We have a good bond and she shares her feelings with me, and I know how much she has helped and solved the situation at home, between her parents. Watching her lead a workshop during Life Skills Day was unbelievable because she never displayed those leadership qualities before. She did a fantastic job!”

 Nagraj who is Arpita’s facilitator shared, “I have been taking football sessions in this school and for Arpita’s batch for the past 2-years and I’ve watched her change. Initially, she shied away from taking up any leadership roles and responsibilities. On speaking to her, I realised that she came from a difficult background, where her parents always seemed to be in conflict. She was affected by this and kept thinking that she didn’t have it in her to change the situation. Over time, I observed her slowly step up and take responsibilities and initiatives to lead the students. I believed that she would be able to successfully conduct a workshop during Life Skills Day and that day, she truly proved that she had those leadership qualities within her.”

Why Dream a Dream and Life skills?

COVID 19 has disrupted the status quo creating space to drive change and equip young people with Life skills to adapt to situations like the one created due to the pandemic. At Dream a Dream, we believe that the 21st century provides an excellent opportunity to young people from vulnerable backgrounds to ‘go beyond’ and step into a future without poverty in spite of not having access to good quality academic education. Young people who are able to adapt to this new, fast changing world through skills and abilities to think creatively, manage conflict, respond with empathy, work in teams, take initiative and be adaptable will be successful in this new world.

After School Life Skills Programme:

In our After School Life Skills Programme, we use creative arts and football as mediums to engage and develop critical life skills among young people between the ages of 8 to 15 years. This programme is an innovation lab where new approaches to life skills development are introduced, demonstrated, documented, evaluated, and fed back into a larger framework for re-imagining learning for young people in the country. To measure the improvements in life skills amongst the young people, we use the Life Skills Assessment Scale (LSAS*).

This year is particularly difficult for the young people and the teachers due to the prevailing lockdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc across the world and the number of positive cases keeps increasing every day. A calamity like COVID-19 brings out the best and worst in a society. The first to get affected are the young people who come from difficult backgrounds. The fast act and response measures from the government to curb the pandemic is making life more difficult for marginalized groups.

Many of our young people’s parents are daily wage workers and many of them are dependent on daily, weekly and bi-weekly income; putting an immense amount of stress on them to buy food and other basic everyday needs. Summer is also the time that many young people use to earn money to save for further education. The battle against COVID-19 has made young people feel more vulnerable than before because they wouldn’t be able to afford school/ college fees.

At Dream a Dream, we give all the support a young person needs and more so now. We have formed a team comprising of the Leadership and the programme managers to support young people’s social, emotional and economic needs during these stressful times. We have also formed a team to stay connected and support young people and teachers in our programme. The team answers calls related to awareness and precautions related to COVID-19, give emotional/validation support, advise related to e-learning programme and provide dry ration kits to needy families.

Some of the highlights:

• The number of Beneficiary enrolled in the programme is 2908, comprising of 1420 boys and 1488 girls.
• There are 16 female facilitators and 19 male facilitators to conduct the Life Skills sessions.
• The team has been having virtual session through Whatsapp and Zoom under the reintegration initiative. Till date we have 2908 young people enrolling into the programme which includes 940 young people enrolled under the reintegration initiative.

The Global #Whatif movement

Over the last few months, Suchetha Bhat (CEO, Dream a Dream) and Vishal Talreja (Co-founder & Trustee, Dream a Dream) have tried to make sense of everything that has happened / is happening, and specifically its impact on children from marginalized communities. They wrote a series of articles (1,2,3) reflecting on the education system and the insights they were picking up from the ground.

These articles got a great response from the community and people started reaching out with questions on how they can engage and support these reflections. This led to the launch of a Global Movement called #WhatIf. You can read more about it here - https://whatif-global.com/.

The #WhatIf Movement is a community driven initiative with the intention to invite a pause, a moment, a stillness into our being before we can respond to support our children. It is an initiative to explore and discover what could be our most compassionate offer to our children during this pandemic and post when children begin to re-engage with school.

There have been some amazing partners / individuals joining the movement through writing articles, sending across endorsements, creating and sharing resources, engaging with social media and taking the #WhatIf idea to their communities. Since it’s a community driven event, different partners are engaging with it in their own way and driving the thinking.

The overall hope is that the process of reflection and taking a pause will help us change narratives around education and give us a real chance to Reimagine education in a post-COVID world.