Transform Outcomes for Children at Risk In India

“For in dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own”

Reading these words spoken by Dumbledore, belonging to that world of witchcraft and wizardry that implored an entire generation to believe in magic and the beauty of dreams, have you ever wondered what it would be like if we could perhaps create a little space, our little world, within the realms of reality? A world dominated by the magic of our dreams? In MAD, realising the importance of dreams no matter how outrageous, we decided to build such a space for our kids, with a tinge of difference.

Owing to the ambience at a shelter home, the rigidity of routines and lack of proper exposure, children often fail to envision their future. We believe that every child should be inspired to dream, and also have an idea on how to plan their dreams and what it takes to get there. With this aim in mind, we lay the foundation of Dream Camps this year.

In a nutshell, Dream Camps are 3-day outbound experiential camps that help children dream about their future goals and understand what it takes to achieve those dreams through personal discovery, exploring new talents by challenging themselves and taking responsibility of their actions/decisions.

We all need a change in perspective to challenge and explore our dreams. Alongside compulsory plenary sessions, encompassing issues like working in a group and moving out of one’s comfort zone, plenty of room has been incorporated in the schedule to include activities like dance therapy, storytelling, or simply impromptu sessions held by volunteers themselves.

We piloted Dream Camp for the session 14-15 at Bangalore where we played as much as we learnt. Till the end of March, 23 cities in India will be enveloped in this cloak of magic, this little worlds of dreams where children will not only learn to dream but learn to take up the onus of realising these dreams.

Even as we work towards flooring the Dream Camps this year, our volunteers continue embodying the picture of resilience and courage. Our volunteer Navjit Bajwa from Chandigarh delineated a story of impeccable faith. This is what she had to say,

“This story is simply about surprises. As we look at the world around us, a little bit of cynicism tends to creep in, we all become a little jaded.

We lose faith in the ability of people to surprise us. When I joined MAD I was in the same boat. I felt that I had seen it all and done it all. But little did I know what life had in store for me. In the class that I was allotted, I met a quiet little girl, Durga.

Just like many others before me I taught with the preconceived notion that if one does not answer a question, it implies one does not know the answer. I really despaired after my initial 3-4 classes, because Durga would never speak up or answer any questions in class. I thought that there is something lacking in my teaching and the children do not understand what I am teaching.

Then, one fine day we struck upon the idea of diligently creating exit slips. After the lesson ended, I gave the children about 5 questions to answer. To be frank, I was not expecting much. But I was wrong again. I opened Durga’s notebook to find neatly written perfect answers to all the questions. Plus her handwriting is beautiful. It was like she had wrapped a nice little present and put a bow on it.

All my previous fears and doubts forgotten, I started afresh with more motivation than ever. I am proud to say that Durga is doing extremely well in Science. She scored almost 100% in her last assessment at school. I would like to end this by saying that it is easy to lose faith but please hold on, the children that we teach are full of surprises and have the ability to teach all of us some wonderful life lessons.”

The incredible story of faith does not end here. Early on Sikander, a child under the Propel project, made it very clear to his wingman, Tanuj that he simply had to earn, even if it was at the cost of his studies, for his mother needed him. It was something that made the Parent-Wingman Meet, on December 6 of 2014, fraught with tension for Tanuj. By the end of it, something magical happened -- “All I ask is that you make a man of my son,” Sikander’s mother said. “Nothing will make me happier than to see my son in a stable and respectable job.”

Both Tanuj and Sikander are now moving full-speed towards a Hotel Management degree.

‘Faith’ and ‘belief’ are extremely slippery terms. They are fragile things that need to be handled with care. If we as teachers, mentors, volunteers ever fear the shattering of any of these, that very fear is itself shattered at the face of the will reflected in the likes of little Bikramjeet.

Bikramjeet is a little girl who will easily catch your attention as you walk into the shelter home. Her forte remains writing and public speaking, though she takes care not to answer anything or question anything until and unless she is absolutely sure. Her restlessness in class, however, does not affect her rock like ambition of becoming a doctor. Nothing and nothing at all stops her from picking up medicine as a career option. She fears being judged as not competent enough by others but the will-power to overcome the inhibitions is unmatched. With the help of career based activities of project Discover, she is beginning to self- explore and evolve gradually as each learning sinks into her. The fear of being judged is fading out and she is starting to become unhesitant in trying her hands on spheres which were previously unknown to her. During a recent visit on journalism to a renowned media house, she was the first to raise her hand when asked how many amongst the kids were interested in taking journalism up as a career. She's learning about the non-conventional professions and is amused to see the variation. Bikramjeet is still determined about her future in medical but she's not shying away from the new information coming her way.

Dreams Come True-with this in mind, we bid goodbye to the year past and true to the Yuletide spirit, prepare to help our children find the greatest gift of all-the gift of realising their dreams and of finding themselves. We move forward in the year with this mammoth task, along with the Awesome Cirlce Tour (ACT), where the National Teams tours 23 cities to meet the volunteers and introduce Fellowship 2015 that will find amidst the crowd, dreamers much like themselves and their kids. For it is by these change makers, these thought leaders, by these ‘dreams and dreamers’, that the future waits to be led! 

Literacy is the greatest gift a person could receive.- John Selinsky 

The truth in this quote is something that reverberated strongly on the day of the eight of the September 2014 for us.   

World Literacy day. A day recognized by UNESCO to realize the importance of  Literacy to individuals, communities and societies. At MAD, our vision is to empower all our children with education being a big stepping stone to them leading a holistic and fulfilling lifestyle. The smile on a child's face when their favorite teacher walks in to the class, or the radiating joy when they go over the shelves of books in their newly painted library is one of the most rewarding experiences for any MADster.  

This world Literacy day was the second edition of MAD's unique nationwide event to mark the day: Back-a-thon '14. An event to raise awareness about Literacy by symbolically walking backward. A community of young, passionate, enthusiasts walking the change with an aim to spread the message of literacy and to create a positive change in this society. 

This year close to 2000 change makers from across 19 cities in India  supported this initiative to push Illiteracy backward. The cause of bringing the light of Literacy was strengthened a bit more this year.

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How many of you have struggled with a Rubik's cube? I know I have wrestled with it for hours on end only to end up red faced and the faces a myriad of red, blue and green. Our children from St. Catherine's, Mumbai turned out to be pros when they got into a Discover activity with the VJTI college to learn the cube better. And what do they all make together? 

Check out the picture of what they made at the bottom! :)

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The success stories from on ground keep on coming. Meet Kavya from Bangalore. An eager 18 year old, she has been a part of MAD's Popel Project for over a year. Karishma, her 'wingman', recounts the first time she met Kavya.

When I first met Kavya, she was hung up on getting a job at a call centre. “What’s the point of going to college, I’ll get the same amount of money after getting a degree that I’ll get after my 12-boards.” Her mind seemed made up.

Lack of awareness, said Karishma, was what was holding Kavya back. She had no interest in Arts, drawing dance et al. There was no spark. 

Until she felt a change in Kavya. Karishma's regular chats and mentor approach with her had an effect. Upon being asked what she wanted to do after a few months, Kavya said, 'Banking'.  All thanks to MAD’s Discover Project that had conducted a banking activity which Kavya had attended. Somewhere, some-how, that activity had stirred her curiosity and eagerness. The Banking professionals had told her that anyone can becoming a banker by getting a college degree in B.Com. And Kavya, believed she could do it.

And now, almost a year later, Kavya is a student of B. Com in the RBANMS college, Bangalore. Studying to fulfil her dream of becoming a banker. The road was not easy. There were hardships. There were challenges. But, as long as you have someone to go over them and support you through thick and thin, it's all a game! 

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Up ahead, we have exciting times. MAD turns 8 years old this November. Instead of celebrating it the traditional way for a day, we take the party to the world. For a week MADsters all over the country go on ground to do random acts of kindness, called the MAD Week. From helium balloons, to cakes,to free hugs to accoustic nights in public places. 

We turn eight. Will you join us?

Because, happiness is contagious. :)