Create a Safe Space for Children and Youth

During the reporting period, CRTRC team trained and engaged with various stakeholders.

On October 9^th 2023, two of our team members engaged the doctors of the psychiatry department of Nadiad Medical college in acknowledgement of the World Mental health Day that falls on 10^th October. The team did Friendship games, group discussions, and self-awareness activities with them to relieve their professional stress. Being in the psychiatry section they are expected to take care of the mental health of their clients, but their own mental health becomes sidelined. Ten males and one woman attended this training. They had fun, open conversations during these activities.

Fourt eight women employed in Ambuja Cements Foundation completed their three-day Basic Wenlido training. Two members of the Wenlido team facilitated the sessions. The women gave happy and very satisfied feedback after the training. Many of them thanked the team for making them realize the internalized and invisible power inequalities in their everyday lives. Discussions were also held on how to ensure a safe working space for each one of them.

A three-day Activity workshop was done in two Aashramshalas at Pindval and Kadki from 5^th –8^th November 2023. A six-member team facilitated the sessions with 146 children. Children enjoyed the engaging activities which encouraged their creativity through Papercrafts, Art and Crafts. Children were amazed by the simple Science toys they could design on their own and they were excited all through the Leadership and Team building games and Life skill activities. Activities that improve one’s language skills were also played with children.

A four-member team was invited to do an evaluation on Timbaktu Collective’s Chiguru programme. The Timbaktu Collective is a grassroots nonprofit organization that works towards the sustainable development of marginalized people in the drought-prone and ecologically challenged Sri Satya Sai and Ananthapuram District in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Their expertise lies in making of cooperatives of women, youths, farmers. But they wanted an evaluation for their Children programme called as Chiguru programme that began from the 1993. From 3^rd December to 6^th December the team visited and interacted with all important stakeholders of the programme from children, parents, Leaders, Alumni members, teachers, Programme team, Head and Director.

A defined framework consisting of Focus Group Discussions, Observations, Interviews was developed before the visits. Shaishav had a great learning experience and recommended Timbuktu to be part of Child rights and collective networks to continue the conversations.

An elaborate evaluation report with observations, recommendations covering the Evaluation objectives were shared and the Final report was made after considering feedback from Timbuktu Collective team.

Ms. Parul Sheth, Executive Director of Shaishav was invited for the Catalyst 2030 held in Bengaluru on 10^th December to present about children’s participation along with Ms. Kavita Ratna from CWC and Mr. Jim Jesudoss from Sakti Vidiyal. Ms. Parul gave a presentation on how engaging with children can result in a peaceful and Gender equal world. BALSENA was talked about in this context and the importance of child participation was emphasized in here.

Two more days were spent in Bengaluru to visit various organizations in the child development domain. We visited APSA (Association for Promoting Social Action) an organization that runs a Childcare Institute and engages children in marginalized areas of Urban Bengaluru in several ways. Mr. P.Lakshapathi and other team members also met and interacted.

The Dream a Dream Bengaluru office was also visited, and we had an engaging interaction with the Career connect project team and Ms. Suchetha Bhatt (CEO, Dream a Dream).

On 17^th December, BALSENA (children collective) celebrated their Annual day. The theme for the day was Healthy Food consumption and children through group discussions, group works and board games, Audio visuals were informed of importance of nutrients, problems of substance abuse in human body, and how to be conscious consumers.

On 25^th December 2023, at St Xaviers school, Bharuch, thirty-two senior citizens (17 male and 15 females) over the age of 62 belonging to an association were productively engaged in a session of Friendship games and healthy conversations on how to negotiate a space with the newer generation of people. The participants were excited by these games that brought back their younger memories and took them back to their childhood. Senior citizens occupy an invisible position in society and acknowledging their mental health is not a priority in today’s world. It becomes important to create an open space for a free flow of conversation between people from both generations (new and old), so that emotions do not get repressed and result in frustrations.

On 27^th and 28^th January 2024, three of Shaishav team facilitated the Election process of children collectives run by AATAPI SEVA Foundation, Bharuch. Seventy children (26 boys and 44 girls) took part in this process and in the last day they selected their President and Vice President for the year. Children, through various leadership games and team building activities, discussed the qualities of an empathetic leader. Children displayed exemplary confidence in contesting and children chose the rightful candidate.

In the month of February, 170 young boys pursuing ITI at VGTK College, Jhagadia were engaged in a mix of activities that were creativity inducing, leadership and team building games and play for peace activities. Life skill activities that dealt with communication, Coordination, Critical thinking, and other skills associated with their career and overall personality development were also discussed. The young men also found the focus improving games, goal setting exercise and entrepreneurial skills interesting and helpful.

MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT

A board game that creatively engages the children and makes them realize the positive outcomes of eating nutritious food and the negative outcomes that will adversely affect life eventually was designed. This game can be easily replicable to be played with children from any geography and age group. Also associated with the same topic of Healthy Eating a Need and Want poster was designed.

In the coming days, the CRTRC team will be in the process of conceptualizing the revised strategy to develop the capacity and skill of facilitators/teachers at residential institutions /Aashramshalas of partner organizations in other parts of the state. This ensures a proactive engagement in the learning and sharing ecosystem in a larger scale.