Voluntear the Mask – October 2013
Guess the volunteers in this picture!
Clue: There is a volunteer from each chapter of Lakshya đ
Tag: Ripples October 2013
Shreyas the duffer
Shreyas was walking home crestfallen and scared. He had failed in maths again. His mom was sure to scold him or even beat him. He decided that he should hide the paper from his mom. He put on an extra cheerful face and greeted his mother with false enthusiasm. His mom smelled something fishy. She was sceptical yet chose to ignore it for now.
The next day Shreyasâ mother got a call from school saying not only has Shreyas not got his parentâs signature in his answer sheets but also failed in all the subjects and miserably failed with a single digit score in math. The class teacher wanted to meet her. When she came in, the class teacher called for Shreyas. His mother had to control herself from scolding Shreyas in front of the teacher. Shreyas was asked to explain why he scored so less in all the subjects and failed miserably in math. He explained that he couldnât understand what was being taught at school; his mother couldn’t control herself anymore. She started hitting Shreyas in front of the teacher and his friends. She explained saying, âNo matter what I do, nothing enters his thick skull. He is such a dufferâ. Though his friends were taken aback when Shreyasâ mom hit him, they were finding the scene funny. The name âShreyas the dufferâ stuck on.
Another day, his teacher asked Shreyas to solve a simple math problem on the board. He did not know how but still tried his level best to solve it. All his friends burst out laughing at the gibberish he had written on the board. Feeling ashamed of himself he ran back to his seat and was waiting for the day to get over and run the earliest. But then he was also unwanted even at home. He wanted to somehow drown his sorrow. He wanted to shut his friendsâ mouths somehow.
After the last hour he caught hold of the lanky bespectacled Ramu who was sitting beside him and asked him why he too ridiculed him when he was his friend. Ramu laughed and told Shreyas, âIts only your belief that you are my friend. I donât think Iâd wanna to be friends with a duffer.â Shreyas got wild with anger and started punching Ramu hard and relentlessly venting out all his pent up anger unawares that Ramuâs nose was bleeding and his specs flew askew. Seeing the blood in his hands Shreyas stopped his punching. Horrified by what he had done, scared to the end of his wits he ran out of the class leaving behind all his belongings. He ran past the gates and unthinkingly ran across the road. Suddenly he heard a loud horn and thats the last he heard.
The story could have ended differently if Shreyas had someone to lend him a listening ear, someone to help him deal with his friends who ridiculed him, someone to pick him up when he felt low, someone to guide and mentor him.
~ Srividya
Chennai
Kid’s Interview
Kidâs Interview
An interview of the kid with regular attendance for motivation ended up in a small chat with 3 enthusiastic kids. Their original and translated responses are in a dialogue form to instil the innocence in the words.
Me: Â Vijay Unna Pathi sollu?
Vijay: En per D.Vijay Kumar Nan Thiruverambur Kulathur melnilai pallila Ninth padikuren
Me: Vijay Tell Me about you?
Vijay: My name is D.Vijay Kumar Iâm studying Ninth standard in Thiruverambur Kulathur Melnilai Palli. (Thiruverambur Kulathur Higher Secondary School)
Me: Unakku enna pudikkum?
Vijay: Enakku vilayatu, Padippu, Vilayada pudikkum.
Me: What is Your Passion?
Vijay: I like Sports, Learning. I like playing.
Me: Enna Vilayada pudikkum?
Vijay: Enakku Kabadi, Cricket, co-co, kaal pandu , kai panduâŚ.
Me: What Do you like to play?
Vijay: I like playing Kabadi, Cricket, CO-CO, Football, and Handball.
Me: Ithu ellam vilayaduviya illa Vilayada pudikuma?
Vijay: Ellame vilayaduven; kathukuten
Me: Do you know to play all these or you like them?
Vijay: I play all of them; I learnt.
Me: Seri Bhumiâlerundu edo nanga lakshyaâkku varom appudina odane enna pannuvomnu nenaicha?
Vijay: Ungalta irundu nalla vilyatu approm ungalterundu eppudilam muneranumnu kathukalamnu irunthen.
Me: Ok! When you heard that a few guys from Bhumi are gonna come for something called âLakshyaâ what were you expecting?
Vijay: I was expecting good games; I was eager to learn how to get better in life from you people.
Me: Vera enna therinjukalamnu nenaicha?
Vijay: Ungalterundu suthatha Pathi therinjukalamnu irunden, Padippu vishyam edavuthu solli kudupinganu nenaichen
approm enga ellarukkum English kathu taruvinganu nenaichom.
Me: What else were you expecting to learn?
Vijay: I wanted to learn about cleanliness and hygiene from you; I thought you will teach something academic oriented I thought you would teach us English.
Me: Unakku padippu schoolâla soli Taranga ana entha edathulayume solli tarathadu unaku pudichathu edavathu ne kathukanumnu yosichu irukiya, apudi yethavathuâŚ
(A howling sound followed by Vivek saying nanga Thana and Vignesh added engaltayum ethavathu kelunga)
Vijay: ivungaltaye kelunga
Vignesh: Enakku English olunga varathu athanala katukanumnu aasiya irukku.
Me: You are learning academics in schools, what other co- curricular activities did you want to learn?
(A howling sound followed by Vivek saying Its just us and Vignesh added Ask something to us also.)
Vijay: Ask to these people also.
Vignesh: I donât speak good English so I wanted to learn that from you.
Me: ippodaikku konjam teriyala avalothan kathukudutha vandrum vera edavathu.
Vignesh: neenga eldurathaye vera madri kathu kuduthinga athunpudichirundudu.
Me: As of now your English has to be made better but what else do you wanna learn?
Vignesh:Â You made us write a normal test in an innovative way I liked that.
Me: Unnakku?
Vivek: Enakku aeroplane pakkum bothu atha ota kathukanumnu aasai irukku.
Me: How about you?
Vivek: Whenever I see an aero plane I wanna learn how to drive it.
Me: Atha pathi yartayavathu keturukiya ena therinju irukka atha pathi?
Vivek: Athuku Konjam control machine correctâah use pananum; payanaligala yethitu vandu correct timeâla erakanum; Neraya per iruntha rumba valaika kudathu; adu abathana vela than
Me: Have you enquired about that to people what do you know about it?
Vivek: Yea we need to user control systems correctly for that; Depending on the persons you should turn; if there are a lot of passengers you should not drift much. Itâs pretty much a dangerous job
Me: abathunaâŚ
Vivek: Eninakku abathulam toosi madri na.
Me: Dangerous in the senseâŚ
Vivek: Dangerous tasks are like dust before meâŚ
Me: Ungulukku intha madri aasai âŚ
Vignesh: Kovilâla hindi karangala pakum bothu hindi pesa kathukanumnu aasai irukku.Neraya mozhi kathukanumnu aasai irukku.
Vijay:Enakku train otanumnu aasai irukku.
Me: Do you guys have some wish like thisâŚ
Vignesh: When I see Hindi people worshiping in temple; I have yearned to learn the language. I basically wanna learn a lot of languages.
Vijay: I have wished to drive a train.
Me: Seri ithana lakshya sessionâla ethu unnakku takânu gyabagam irukku yosikama sollu?
Vignesh: thopiya mati mati potomâla antha velayatu gyabagam irukku.
Me: Well can you tell me which Lakshya session you could remember instantaneously?
Vignesh: the one in which we exchanged caps by passing it over to nearer onesâŚ
Me: Enna kathukutanu gyabagam irukka?
Vignesh: Naama padichu inoruthanta sonna avan poi innorthanta solluvan ipudiye padichu padichu muneruvom.
Me: What did you understand in that?
Vignesh: If we learn something and share it with a person then he would share it with a few more and thus we would all get better together.
Me: Lakshyaâla Enna pudichirukku?
Vignesh: Enakku valkaila muneranumnu oru vilayatu solli thandenga adu pudichirundudu ippo nenga panra madri nanum oru amaippu arambichu ellarukkum solli taranumnu irkkuren na.Nanum English kathukutu yellarukkum solli taruven.
Vivek:Â oru study group maadri aarambichu pasangalukku solli taralamnu irukkom.
Vijay: college ponadhuku approm.
Me: what do you like in Lakshya?
Vignesh: You taught me a game about getting better in life I remember that. When I grow up I too want to start an organization like this and teach people like you. I will learn English and teach people.Â
Vivek: We would like to start a study group and teach people
Vijay: After going to college. Â
(This is where that beautiful chat ended still thinking if I could just go and have another chat with them like this)
Group Activity Session@Manavar Illam
Lakshya GA sessions-an insiderâs recount
Lakshya â a name which few months back would have made me think about Hrithik Roshanâs 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 volunteerâs requests. They even nicknamed a few volunteers (self was named âcomedy pieceâ). 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 ââa developed INDIAâ
~ Vivek Rajan
Manavar Illam, Trichy
Design For Change-2013
A Dream For Change (DFC)
A Design-for-change from a dream for change..!!
The complete change of the Maanavar Illam, Trichy, was felt after the tremendous process with kids in two days with a theme of âcleanlinessâ . As a Tamil proverb states âsutham soru podumâ, we made the kids start something for a clean and a green environment. Cleaning the ground, planting saplings in available spaces, and allocating spaces for playing, better washing area, etc. were the phases of the change. At first, it was a little bit of a challenge to imagine the environment from sick old to a healthy new one. But later, we jumped into the field with each and every volunteer managing a team of 4-5 kids namely inventory, space management, waste management, planting saplings and cleaning.
The kids showed a lot of interest and played every role to enhance their existing surroundings to a clean area despite their exams the following day. The plan was discussed and meticulously carried out. Creating pathways for the waste water to prevent its stagnancy was the first step in our DFC. Simultaneously, the other teams started their respective work like planting seeds and fencing. Gardening was a great process and led to a success with the help of all the kids. And the day ended with a little clean and green look with some work still pending in the list.
Our DFC went on a second week voyage and we planned for half-a-day to finish all those pending works. The kids never ceased to inspire us. They chlorinated the wash area of the home without our help that just awed us more. They chose the places for planting vegetables and cleaned a stage filled with wooden logs on that day with us lending a few hands. And at last we made a volley ball court for the kids to put their skills on the ground for test. DFC ended successfully with things getting captured across devices and with our idea of having National Anthem to show the patriotism after the project getting through. It was really awesome to be a part of DFC at Maanavar Illam.
I hope each volunteer enjoyed a lot even while blending their sweat with blood during the project. They were very well aware of all the things and experienced in creating a plan and to establish it successfully by thinking out of the box. We learnt a lot from each kid like how to use the tools like stone and a simple iron wire for fencing. Finally, a clean and green environment was made for the kids and by the kids. DFC went with more than just satisfaction in our hearts.
~ Srinivasavan
Manavar Illam, Trichy