Second Quarter Report for Gandhi Peace Program- GlobalGiving
June 03, 2020
We would like to start by thanking you for your continued support for the National Indo-American Museum’s Gandhi Peace Program. The last quarter has been riddled with challenges requiring us to reshape our program and make it accessible to kids in Chicago. We were invited by eleven schools to take classes until Chicago Public Schools were closed due to the pandemic. As such, we have transitioned the program, if temporarily, to online classes to continue our mission in bringing Gandhi’s message of peace and non-violence to children across Chicago.
NIAM’s lead instructor for the Gandhi Peace Program, Jitesh Jaggi, has been conducting livestreaming sessions on our Facebook page. This has allowed us to continue the program and spread the message of peace even during the COVID 19 epidemic. After several internal revisions, we have adapted the curriculum to fit the requirements of virtual programming. In May 2020 we tested it out on our online audience with great results. Our livestream video has been viewed more than 800 times and has allowed us to reach children beyond Chicago. We have therefore decided to continue online programming in an ancillary form even after social distancing measures are lifted.
In June 2020 we finetuned the program further by expanding our art exercise component in an effort to make the program interactive. We were delighted by the audience response in the form of comments and art submissions by our young viewers. We recognize the importance of non-violence education especially at a time when the country is grappled with protests against racism and inequality. Our instructors have stressed on connecting the history of peaceful demonstrations from Gandhi’s Salt March to Martin Luther King’s Million Man march and sit-ins. We will continue to demonstrate and advocate for peaceful alternatives to our younger generation of followers as they make their voices heard.
For the next quarter, we plan to conduct monthly sessions online, possibly testing different mediums like Zoom, Facebook, YouTube etc. We are also in touch with our partnering organization, Communities in Schools (CIS) to get our program in the hands of Chicago Public School students by acting as a link between NIAM and CPS. We will keep you posted as we tread through these uncertain times and streamline our offering to students who need it the most. Thank you.
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