Tag: Group Activity

Game changers

Game changers

A session based on “I AM THE CHANGE” theme was planned for the kids at abhayasharam , Bangalore on the 11th of Jan 2015 .
The first part of the session kick started with a discussion on various social problems the intensity of the discussion went on from lighter talks like planting more trees to protest against child marriage.
The kids blew away our minds with depth of knowledge they had.
They were comments like , ” being independent is important than getting married ” to funnier comments like ” marriage is a very boring part of life “.
In the session topics such as dowry , save girl child , child abuse were stressed upon and discussed at length . At the end of the session every child in that room took an oath that they
would step up and question if they ever come across the discussed issues , as they believe in the theme I AM THE CHANGE .
The second part of the session was an activity session , where the kids we’re divided into two groups of four and were given the liberty to take up any one social issue discussed in the class and come up with an innovative board game to spread their knowledge to others.
Initially everyone in the class were taken back , they had no idea how they could implement these issues to design a game ,a bit of motivation from the volunteers side gave them that initial push they needed.
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The first group decided to work on SAVE GIRL CHILD whereas the second group chose DOWRY. They were given one hour , chart paper , colour pencils and other stationery items for designing the game. They were instructed to make a draft copy before finalising a design , the kids for the first few minutes were lacking in ideas and wanted to give up , one of the child commented ” only scientists could invent things and they were not one ” , it was time for the
volunteers to spring back in action and motivated them to think about how much fun a game would be to play they invented rather than thinking about how difficult it was to create them .In the last 45 minutes , both the groups were busy and jotting points and designs on their rough paper . At the end of it all , both the teams had come up with two Mind blowing games .The first team who had taken up SAVE GIRL CHILD ,had designed a game on the basis of how important a director is for a movie the same way a girl child is important for a family , impressive right ?
The game was designed in a circular pattern where you had to rotate the pin and the place the pin stops is the points you get, the circle was divided into various boxes based on three messages:
KILLING A GIRL CHILD 100 POINTS
AWARENESS ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF GIRL CHILD 700 POINTS
SAVING A GIRL CHILD 1000 POINTS
the player with the most points wins the game , the winner gets a hand made thank you card with the message “THANK YOU FOR SAVING A GIRL CHILD” .The second group who had taken up DOWRY had made a game on the basis that only gifts given by parents with love are accepted and not gifts given forcefully which is titled dowry .So the game was roll the dice , they had made 28 boxes numbered , and you had to roll the dice to move your pawn to the number corresponding to the dice. If you landed on a box
stating dowry you immediately are thrown into the jail and hence are outta the game. The person who safely overcomes all dowry boxes would be declared winner . The volunteers were speechless seeing these kids design such wonderful apt games based on the theme . All the volunteers did was motivate and these kids had turned that motivation into a beautiful creative idea. At the end of it all each child had a huge smile on there face realising they were the CHANGE.
A small initiative but this can go on to make a huge difference to each child , their family and ultimately the society. The CHANGE you want to see around you starts from YOU.
I AM THE CHANGE.

Cracking the show open – Sivakasi

              The session started a little late at around 10:15 since students from nearby towns, villages had to come all the way by bus (fare provided by udhavum ullangal). Initially there was a prayer song after which there was short discussion on importance of studies and mentoring from the perspective of udhavum ullangal which was academic centric and they brought out previous student experiences where students have scored high marks with their help. Then it was Bhumi’s turn to work on some activities to play with the children and have some learning part along with fun.
DSC_2209 Continue reading “Cracking the show open – Sivakasi”

Benchmarks for 2014-15

With a belief that bench-marks are not created rather extended; we have been re-defining the way we work by setting up benchmarks for us by analysing various other sets of instances that are possibly existing around us. Similarly small yet efficient layers of study which focuses on external organisations that are working on similar terms and internally analysing other bhumi projects. An additional trial out in this year, would be an extension for the internet generation which takes the the advantage of facilities like video-calling environments to conduct a session facilitated across tough geographical terrains under “E-Lakshya” program which is under process and it can be an worthwhile expectation for all of us.

Herunmayee from Chennai Lakshaya Team Says,” In the past we had been methodically trying out a lot of things to cover the planned modules in sessions. Yet at a particular point when we stop by to analyse or try to understand what we have done; we don’t have a proper mechanism for that. When even new volunteers ask us about the procedures which we have done earlier through the session we don’t have something to show them. More important than that we don’t get to look back what have we done to the kids; this is very important because only this indicator helps us to refine our methodologies. On a personal note we would also clearly demarcate an objective for the project.Which i feel has not been so clearly put till date;as in the conflicts with the necessity and parts of mentoring that are handled by volunteers which would help prioritized efforts. So working on assessments this time by studying instances and organisations shall help us. As with my personal expectations we might expect a result oriented approach from the present teams and their plans and progress in 2014-15. “

Ground rules for 2014-15

Ground Rules for Students

  • Be Punctual. All kids should be present by 10 A.M. {Might vary with centres}
  • Avoid Usage of foul language.
  • Avoid doing homework or studying during sessions.
  • Avoid shouting and creating chaos.
  • No kids should be physically harmed by other fellow kids
  • Inform the volunteers in case of your absence.
  • Avoid bringing unnecessary things to session unless informed by the volunteers

Ground Rules For Volunteers

During Sessions:

  • All respective volunteers should be at the centre by 9.30 AM {Might vary with centre}
  • Avoid usage of foul languages in sessions
  • Avoid using mobiles during sessions (In case of emergency use outside session area)
  • Avoid giving mobiles to kids
  • Dress appropriately for sessions (Avoid shorts and tracks)
  • Donot physically assault or touch which makes the kid uncomfortable.
  • The kids should always be in session area; in vicinity of all volunteers and kids.
  • Never shout or scold the kids; treat all kids equally.
  • Never share everything about oneself to kids {Maintain boundaries; especially personal problems and stuff}
  • Dont make promises that one cannot keep
  • must actively participate in activities to motivate kids to come forward.
    General Rules:
  • Prepare for every session and well in advance.
  • Inform the centre coordinator in case of absence
  • Never tag a kid
  •  Safety of kids is your prime importance.
  • do not entertain giving gifts or money to kids.{all gifts should be through centre coordinator.}
  • Do not visit centre apart from session timings. {If so, Inform the centre coordinators}
  • Do not bring persons not associated with bhumi to sessions
  • No activity (communication, jokes etc…) should be sexual in nature.
  • In case of any help or to make clarifications, centre coordinator is your point of contact.

Notable request for volunteers: Make sure the kids SMILE whenever they see you 😀

Inductions 2014

Inductions 2014

Lakshya-The name of the group itself speaks volumes. I was introduced to Bhumi by my friend Nithya who has been volunteering for a year now. I believe your personality gives you confidence, individuality and it is a true reflection on what you are. Lakshya aims at moulding the personality of mentees (Kids) and also shape the personality of the volunteers (mentors). The reason I choose Lakshya was to create this impact in a Child’s life in a positive way.

The induction programme organised by existing Lakshya volunteers was well thought out and planned. One could see that it was not a one man show. All the existing members had a part to play. They were heart warming and very receptive to the new volunteers and included us in the group instantly making us feel totally comfortable.
The induction programme was absolute fun; from the self introduction where the newbies had to write their names in the air to the more serious activity of matching modules with sub modules was very interesting. The presentation gave us a clear idea about what the over arching objective of Lakshya is and the annual plan that has been scheduled. The mentor training programme that will be organised is an excellent move by Lakshya to ensure that volunteers turn out to be effective mentors. The induction gave us an idea that through Lakshya you can do serious work in a fun loving way; that together as one we will not only do our bit but also enjoy the journey.

I’m really excited about the being a part of Lakshya and hoping we all have fantastic year ahead. Cheers!
-Tejaswini

Lakshya !
Lakshya means goal.
We lakshyans were hoping for new enthusiastic people to join us.
During orientation, many volunteers came forward with novel ideas. Its unfair to mention names. It was always an team effort which made our orientations successful.

We had a serious challenge during induction. Then again, our team took it up with ease and we were successful in delivering the right content and the new volunteers easily picked our thoughts.
A special mention has to be given for the new volunteers. We were very happy to see such a happy group around us during induction. The success of induction was totally because of the new volunteers.
We lakshyans should keep up the team spirit, and
We welcome the new volunteers and hoping them to enjoy their volunteering experience.
–         Mathpal

Sessions – on a serious note

Sessions – on a serious note

I can’t believe we had a wonderful session only last week, am still not over it, and I am able to write about it now after 3 days! (Sent to ripples on 15th Jan…) It all started with a con-call between me, Lakshmi and Mathpal, we were deeply saddened with the state the 10th standard students are dealing with their board exams. So we decided to go with a serious session, on goal setting and why? We felt our job was to make them realize, it is important to have goals and the rest will be taken care of! We braced ourselves to have a serious session apart from the regular fun filled session which we usually have,  Mathpal came up with a wonderful skit, it played an important part in making the purpose of reaching the students! And we decided that we are just gonna talk our heart out after the skit, I must say though we were skeptical about the plan, we must have been so sure somewhere, that we dint even consider a backup plan! So on the day , we had few more volunteers, who readily consented to the idea, we did planned, the students in their usual fun mood made candid comments on what character they choose to be from the skit ! And  then the kids knew about the session being a serious one, they were all ears at once with no sign of disinterest, each volunteer spoke about the importance of goals from their perspective quoting many real life examples  and when we thought we were done with the session, that was not all.. We saw the unexpected coming! While we were ready for the comments from the students, majorly their dislikes, we saw the students breaking down in front of us, we felt the students really want to make it and do better and many even shared the problems in studies they face!

-Herunmayee Ravi, Chennai

Last session was one of the beautiful sessions ever in BM!
It started with a skit which displayed the characters of common people with no clear goals. And then we sat with the kids and started telling them about that day’s specialty (swami Vivekananda’s birthday).

“Arise awake stop not till the goal is reached”

And then we spoke to them about the importance of having goals in life and had one to one interaction whether goal is important or not! The kids responded well and the kids who were in an unclear mind were listening carefully!
Then Herun started about the importance of 10th std and the effect of it in future life. How our perspective towards studying should change. How short term goals should be linked to long term goals! We appreciated the kids on their positives and mentioned about the things that needs to be improved! It went on like a serious discussion and lead to an emotional end!
The kids were moved by it and reacted that it helped them a lot!
We have to ensure that the fire is still up in their minds about their future!
They will surely come up with their excitement!
It’s the duty of mentors to add fuel to the fire; we created on that day!

Lakshmi Padmanabhan, Chennai

Group Activity Session@Manavar Illam

Group Activity Session@Manavar Illam

Lakshya GA sessions-an insider’s recount

Lakshya – a name which few months back would have made me think about Hrithik Roshan’s dance moves in the blockbuster movie with the same name. But now it is synonymous with a warm glow that swells in my heart when a kid explains what he has learnt through a Group Activity session.
Talking about the sessions we started off Lakshya 2013 at manavar illam on 30-06-2013 with a handful of volunteers and a heart full of hope and confidence. The slight jitter that one may have had about interacting with kids who were complete strangers was dispelled the moment the kids assembled in the hall. Without any prodding, the kids started interacting with the volunteers pulling their legs with puns.
By the second session, the kids had gelled well with the volunteers and they responded enthusiastically to the volunteer’s requests. They even nicknamed a few volunteers (self was named “comedy piece”). The kids also started opening up beautifully at the post group activity (GA) discussions. Soon, the theme of the GA activities was correctly understood and expressed by the kids themselves without any push from the volunteers. Now the kids and volunteers are part of the same team i.e., LAKSHYA working towards the same goal –“a developed INDIA”

~ Vivek Rajan

Manavar Illam, Trichy