Empower Vulnerable Young People with Life Skills

"There has been a positive change in my life and I can use the knowledge that I learned from the After School Life Skills Programme to lead small games, manage team members, and make decisions on my own and not just follow others. I have also learned how to respect others while they are talking in the group and I feel very happy that Dream a Dream has given me this opportunity." - Prakruthi C

Prakruthi C is from Mount Everest School. She is 16 year- old and in the 9th standard. She has been a part of Dream a Dream's After School Life Skills Programmes since 2012. Her father is a mechanic and her mother is a housewife.

At the start of the programme, Prakruthi showed many signs of anger. However, after attending regular sessions it was gradually decreasing. The facilitator of the batch noticed this and identified certain activities that created a space for her to express herself control her anger.

In one particular activity called 'Wrong Behaviour', young participants shared their understanding of what kinds of wrong behaviours are there and some examples of them. During that session, Prakruthi shared her feelings about how making others feel sad can be a wrong behaviour. At that point, the facilitator asked her why she thought that was wrong and she said reflected on a few incidents in the past where she made others feel sad and that it made her feel guilty. The next day, Prakruthi asked the facilitator if she is a bad person. The facilitator asked her what all she likes about herself and she began to reflect again and go deeper. Over the next few sessions, she reflected more on that and came up with great new ideas to control her anger and be happy around others.

The facilitator asked her what challenges she experienced and how she overcame them. She said that every time anyone puts her down her instantaneous reaction is anger. She said that she used to find it difficult to share anything during reflection circles, but one day she saw one of her friends sharing and enjoying the process. She realised that she wanted to feel the same way and enjoy the session too. The facilitator then began to encourage her to share more during reflection circles. During one of these sessions, she said that she does not get a chance to play in any of the activities and small games because she feels everyone puts her down and does not give her an opportunity, which is why she is silent during sessions. After sharing this, the facilitator asked her to lead the team while playing the next football match. She led the team very well and started to display more confidence, and gradually started motivating herself during the life skills sessions.

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 7,700 teachers/educators from 206 partners impacting over 1,92,500 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.

 Three 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 journey so far has been very exciting, and we believe we are on the right path. With this report we would like to share some key highlights from FY 2018-19 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*).

Impact of our After-School Life Skills Programme: 

• Overall enrolment in the programme for the FY2018-19 was 5,658 students.
• Total of 3,275 students opted for Creative Arts and 2,383 opted for Football.
• The programme achieved a healthy balance in terms of gender participation where 48.63% participants were female.
• The average attendance rate was 89% and the average retention rate was 94%.
• 96.8% of the tracked participants were more focused and willing to complete studies and achieve their Dream goals. 
• 96.9 % of the participants had an end line score above norms and thus improved their skills to deal with challenges.
• 96% of the participants have seen a positive change after 2 years of reengagement. 

As always “Thank you for your generous contribution and giving our young people #aChanceToThrive!”