Transform Outcomes for Children at Risk In India

Identifying the Potential Within

Amidst the season of festivities and the good spirits that accompany it, the past few months witnessed the MAD family coming together to set up the foundation of the cities for the coming year. After concluding our Leadership Circle and recruitment, it was now time to get all our young leaders together and show them a glimpse of what they could expect in the coming one year. And what better way to do that than city events where irrespective of the programme they were a part of, volunteers could come together with fresh perspectives, ideas and be provided a platform to exchange thoughts!

With this in mind, we arranged for our first Volunteer Leadership Circle (VLCs). Till last year, we arranged for Inductions where volunteers were briefed about what MAD does, its programmes and structure. However, with time, MAD has come to a stage where it envisions all its volunteers to be potential leaders, who would not only ring with passion but would possess the skills, knowledge and training that would drive social change. Thus, the Induction was revamped into a Volunteer Leadership Circle-a one day, fully immersive experience of the Leadership Circle that was otherwise available only to fellows. It is here where, instead of just learning about the organizational goals, they were given a holistic view of the problems related to children in shelters. Needless to say, it left our volunteers inspired, enthused and determined to assume their responsibilities.

Another change we introduced by way of trainings this year was by integrating programme trainings with City Circles-a place to unite all volunteers a few months into their volunteering journeys to discuss problems, pass on information and engage in group activities. We realized that irrespective of whichever programme that a volunteer has signed up for, he or she is largely catering to the same set of children or trying to tackle the same problem. A child living in a shelter has a different set of requirements at different stages of his/her life, but these requirements cannot be viewed in complete isolation-an academic problem a child may be facing at thirteen years of age may more often than not be springing from weak foundational skills imbibed at a younger age.

It is here that the idea of combining a City Circle (CC) with trainings had its germination, and this year we saw hundreds of MAD volunteers come together to share their experiences with their children and often help each other to come up with ways of handling those problems! Through peer support, team building exercises and creating a space of trust, we were truly able to create a hub of inspired and motivated young leaders. The latter half of the CC saw the volunteers sit with their own verticals and attend the second half of their vertical training. Why second half? This year, to ensure an optimal utilization of time and to give enough space to volunteers to discuss and practice their learnings through exercises, we created e-learning modules and created virtual trainings which the volunteers had to compulsorily attend. This provided the volunteers both with the convenience of attending a training from their home at their preferred time and also the advantage of coming prepared to the training and practice their learnings.

Finally, we would like to share about the resounding success that our Aftercare ecosystem meets are turning out to be! These meetings are a space for Aftercare youth to support and mentor each other. Our vision is to create a buddy system, where instead of us coming up with solutions, youth would support each other through the wisdom and practicality they have acquired through their own unique experiences. High on empathy levels, this allows for the formation of an integral network of youth who have had the experience of living in a shelter and thus have the knowledge and experience to support another youth in distress with ingenuity.

We saw this materialize in front of our own eyes through two youths-one hailing from Coimbatore and other from Cochin. Suresh, who previously lived in a shelter home in Cochin, had the dream of opening his own barber shop and gain a footing in the hairdressing industry. Convinced about his dream, he sought help from us and together we were able to kickstart his venture. However, due to a few bumps in the road, the business tanked. Meanwhile, a youth from Coimbatore expressed his interest in venturing into the same field. It is here where we decided that instead of us coming to his aid, we’d involve Suresh. One thing led to another, and Suresh was able to pass on useful knowledge and even mentor the young lad. Such was the impact that now the youth from Coimbatore insists that he pursue his course from Cochin, where he’d be nearer to his mentor, Suresh!

With classes in full swing, training completed and volunteers ready, we are now venturing into our next phase which would involve innovating assessments, effective ways to involve the community to raise funds and of course, MAD week and Dream Camp. By building a powerful cohort of volunteers, we are looking at a future that is optimistic and full of opportunities for our children!