kodagana koli nungitta

A group of 5 of us ivolunteers participated in a community development initiative organised by makkala jagriti at their venue in old guddadahalli, bangalore. There were about 30 children from an underprivileged background (children of construction workers from the adjoining areas) who participated in the programme. The initiative was to spread awareness about civic, environment and social issues plaguing the community through theatre. The idea was to steer the children to choose an issue that they care for and conceptualise and perform a skit in a time limit of 2 hours.

Being my first volunteering experience and having always had a desire to do this, I was initially apprehensive. I was told never to sympathize with the children but build a sense of self-respect and self-esteem within them. The objective behind the initiative, in my understanding was to channelise their talent, give them direction and in the process spread awareness about the various issues affecting their community.The fear turned to excitement the minute I stepped into their premises. The kids were so enthusiastic about the "drama class" that they were told was going to happen. Inhibitions were non existent as far as I could see.

"ಅಣ್ಣ ಎಲ್ಲ ಶನಿವಾರಾನು ನೀವು ಬರ್ತಿರ ?" - will you be coming every Saturday, a kid asked.

Its not just about going there, teaching them maths, science or arts. Your very presence, having someone to talk to, to share their experiences, share some jokes, laughs, ask questions, answer questions, dance, play - that means a lot to them and to us too. I told her "I'll try".

After a few initial ice breakers, we divided the children into 4 groups of about 7-8 kids .Each volunteer was tied to a group and then the brainstorming sessions began. We just had to drive them a bit and one by one, they opened up. A barrage of varied ideas flowed in from every child. I was surprised and totally taken aback by their clarity of thought and articulation. I asked them how the traffic problem in their area be solved. He replied "ರೋಡ್ ಅಗಲ ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕು.. ಫುಟ್ಪಾತ್ ಹಾಕ್ಬೇಕು" - Roads should be widened. Footpaths should be laid. One boy suggested that they should write a letter to BBMP notifying them of the problems faced. When asked about the possible contents of this letter, some very interesting answers came out. One girl said that it should talk about the number of vehicles on the road being very high, due to which the buses they take to the school gets delayed. Another boy started by stating the format of an official letter as taught in school and went on to suggest that it should throw light on the difficulties faced by them in walking on the road due to the traffic density and lack of footpaths.

On the whole, the issues they chose ranged across traffic jams, basic civic sense, deforestation, high speed driving, pollution etc. Rehearsals went on for about a good fruitful enriching 45 minutes. Then the performances began. While some children were reticent with stage fear, there were others who were not just dynamic and outgoing, but with an added tinge of ecstatic fervour of having dared to perform in front of a crowd. And they took pride in the fact that it was a skit that they had themselves conceptualised, scripted, directed and staged.

The last skit ended with the song kodagana koli nungitta... All the children and we volunteers joined in. It was a a picture perfect end to an enlightening experience.

Among those kids, I felt like one. The joy in those little eyes, the excitement in their voices, the curiosity in their minds, the humor in their speech, their inherent capability, capacity and interest in learning, the love in their hearts. Do they need us, yes. They need not just us but lots more like us. Not because they are incapable. But to give them direction. To give them focus. To help them realise their talent. To help them explore themselves. To make them aware.

"iVolunteer is an initiative that is working to create a volunteering movement in India. iVolunteer sees its role as that of a catalyst, which will create happy volunteering experiences for both volunteers and non-profit organizations. iVolunteer works through its Volunteer Centres across India and various Non-profit partners to a create a volunteering infrastructure that will reduce the time and cost of recruiting volunteers and there by making it easier for volunteers to make a difference in their local community."
http://www.ivolunteer.in

"Makkala Jagriti endeavours to create different learning opportunities for children, adult and communities from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. They believe its critical to encourage and offer spaces for children from different socioeconomic sections to engage with each other for mutual learning and growth."
http://www.makkalajagriti.org/