Picture story activity giving an opportunity for inward journey...| Baroda Updates

Picture story is an activity which requires creative thinking. As the name suggests one is required to write a story based on a given picture. To explain this concept to the students we decided to give them an example using one picture for the whole class. They came up with ideas for the story and all they needed from us was a little guidance. This exercise helped them to understand that a story needs an introduction, plot and a believable end, but otherwise one can let their imagination fly.

In the next class, as planned, we held a small competition in which the class was divided in groups of four or five. Each group came up with their own story (they were given separate pictures) without any external help. We were delighted to see that they were enthusiastic about the activity and seemed to enjoy themselves.

The girl students taking active participation in the on-going  Picture -story  activity

The best thing about that class was that when left to them the children did not waste their time but concentrated on completing their work. We were really surprised to see the group of girls who were actively involved in the process of writing the story, who otherwise used to passive throughout the class.

Shreya and Ankita

Team Baroda

note: the stories written would be published soon

Girl students at Enhance learnt 'Sudoku' along with Martial Arts

Since the children were already burdened with unit tests, I thought of conducting some activity which would be new, fun and beneficial at the same time. I came up with “Sudoku”, which provides an overall exercise for the brain, helping in  keeping it active, focused and sharp.

The girls were very excited at the prospect of learning a new ‘game’. Smriti and I started with first explaining the various terms associated with the game, followed by the concept. Most of the girls, except 2-3 were quick to grasp it, and were able to solve a 4 X 4 grid within minutes.

Neha and Smriti teaching Sudoku at Project Enhance, Pune

Further when I asked them should I increase the difficulty level by giving a 6 X 6 grid to solve, ALL of them answered in the positive.  2 girls who were giggling and not paying attention, I called upon them to solve the grid on the blackboard, and contrary to what was told by Anand, I did not find them to be shy at all, since most of them were literally jumping and asking for a chance to come and solve on the board.


So basically, I found that if the girls have the knowledge, and when they know what to do and how to do, they become confident automatically.


And when around at quarter to four, I asked them if they would like to have a 9X9 grid to solve at their homes, in case they wanted a break from studying, there was a unanimous yes. On the downside, 3 girls told me that they were bored [its positive in the way that they could freely express what they actually felt].

Neha and Smriti
Team Pune

Joy on their faces was something we can never forget | Colors of Life ~ Baroda

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”  Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

When we first joint colors we didn’t know what to expect from the children. We didn’t know how much they knew, what they would be interested in or how they would interact with us. We weren’t even sure how we should interact with them. Therefore, our initial classes were not productive. The children did not stay interested in our classes for long and we began to have problems with the attendance. The boys would refuse to talk to us, preferring to talk among them, the girls were shy and we had difficulty in connecting with all of them.

After three months of fruitless discussions, us pestering them to write and them demanding to go out, we finally decided to change our approach for lack of satisfactory results. We spoke to our teachers and mentors and unanimously came up with the idea of doing more activities with the children. Since then, we have done a variety of activities with them like the ‘hero game’. In this, we asked each child to think of his/her favorite film character and tell us how they would respond to certain given situations.

This helped us to understand what they admire in their heroes and it made them think about what they would do in the same situation. We also conducted a quiz o Indian states and capitals. Though we had asked them to prepare beforehand, most of them didn't bother. When we gave the teams which won kites as a prize, the joy on their faces was something we can never forget. They were genuinely so happy! Some of the others even came up to us and told us that they would come prepared next time. After months of frustration and disappointment with our work, we felt like we had finally achieved something!

Now, we feel more confident about our plans for the future. Though we had broken the ice some time ago, it is finally getting warmer.

Shreya and Ankita

Team Baroda

Colors of Life

By the government estimate, out of 200 million children in the age group of 6 to 14 in India, around 59 million do not attend school. Of the rest, who are currently in school, four out of every 10 children beginning to attend school will drop out before completing their primary school education. In addition, various studies of children are learning achievement, indicates that the situation is actually grim.

Colorss foundation aims to provide education to the underprivileged children through the project "COLORS OF LIFE". The novelty of the project lies in the fact that it uses ART and WRITING AND TECHNOLOGY for the students to create content for E-ZINE. It strives to achieve the goal of imparting education to the poor and underprivileged children, reduce the number of school dropouts, and help the children to realize their potential and achieve great heights. It is only through the efforts of the educated youth that the India of tomorrow will achieve greater height. Hence the work at hand should be to promote children's education and help towards this noble cause. The team at Colorss has taken the initiative to make that difference in the society and thus prepare the pathway for a shining India.

Shreya and Ankita of Team Baroda with students at Baroda

A one hour session is conducted twice a week where the staff guides teenagers to write and draw, being inspired by a topic chosen by a psychologist. This project also trains children to use computers effectively. After-all technology occupies such a space in our lives that life would come to a standstill sans the technological devices. Basic education is not enough if we are aiming towards building the work force of tomorrow. Education about computers and personality development is equally important. Through participation in this project, students improve their communication and interpersonal skills by working collaboratively. This helps them build interest towards continuing their education and adds variety to their academics. This definitely is a program with a difference because it aims at not just basic education that can help children earn their bread and butter, but also personality development which will prepare them to compete in the world of cut-throat competition.

This project is currently carried out at- 

• Mahadji Shinde High School with 38 students from 5th to 10th grade. (Pune Municipality School)
• Dr. Ambedkar Memorial High School with 20 students from 8th and 9th grade. (Pune Municipality School)
• Navprerna- day care-club of Navrachna School, Baroda with 25 students from 6th and 7th grade.

Children are the future of a nation. For an emerging and developing country like India, development of underprivileged children holds the key to the progress of the nation itself. Colorss through this project aims to educate the underprivileged children and thus eradicate poverty and contribute towards the work force of the country. It needs your support to enhance the project and change more lives.

contact- www.colorss.org | www.facebook.com/colorssfoundation

Tarishi Mishra

Volunteering with Colorss was like nothing I've ever done before

Toral Pattni currently working for the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the D.R.Congo as a Communications Officer, was our first international volunteer from United Kingdom. She came in the month of  Dec 2010 for one month.

Toral's experience is mentioned below..

It seems that Colorss is thriving, which is great.

Volunteering with Colorss was like nothing I've ever done before and has become one of my most treasured life experiences. When I arrived I was initially nervous but from the first time I met the children I realised that there was no need to be, working with them was fun and taught me a lot too. As a volunteer I got to work on many levels, on fundraising, communications work and also teaching English to the children using interactive and communicative techniques. The teachers were warm, welcoming and helpful and I have come away with memories and knowledge that are invaluable.

In terms of experience and skills, I feel my confidence in myself really grew to teach and work with others from different backgrounds from myself. I learnt more how to think on my feet and how to do big things with small resources. You have to really think creatively to maximise the potential of the children and it was interesting to see how different teaching techniques, such as pairwork and drilling, brought out their own confidence and made them want to speak even more. Anand Koti was an inspiring partner to work with, full of energy and ideas, and made sure that I gained as much as I could from the volunteering experience. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see how a grassroots organisation works on ground level taking small steps that add up to positive changes in the children's lives.

Thanks,

Toral