Sapne Aam Aadmi ke, our Yuva Ekta street play is being staged at St. Mary’s school, Safdarjung Enclave on Saturday 4th September.

SCHOOL STUDENTS who are interested in coming and being part of the audience are welcome to be part of the same. Mail us on Facebook or at subhadra@tehelka.com for details on entry, time, etc

The students also had a great time painting pots at the venue along with Himanshu and his team from the Genda Phool project. Unleashing their creativity on a bright Saturday morning, the students made up for scarcity of brushes by using their hands and the genda flowers and adorned the pots in some beautiful hues and patterns.

Here are a few pictures of the plantation activities.

In addition to the Interact Club, it was our first interaction with the senior school boys in this session and the batch of XI grade youngsters responded enthusiastically to the issue.

“It is very heart breaking to know that while we in the urban areas are playing computer games and eating out all the time, there are children dying in the slums because they have none of the facilities we get so easily.” said Rohan Saxena

“We should also spread awareness about family planning and birth control so that they have small families and the finances are less divided and maximum attention be paid to each child”. – S. Rajagopala Rao XI C

“I would personally like to go to a jhuggi nearby and check how many children they have, what are the hygiene conditions, and analyze the conditions there. I am dividing my action plan into two parts

-         Sidharth Mahesh

“We could also do a kind of picnic in the slum where we go and interact with the children, play with them; share our stories and our food. And from here we can build on a project on child mortality with them”. – Raunaq Chawari

“Students could be motivated to participate because they need to involve themselves in social work to add to their profiles for CCE, GRE, etc.” – Nikhit Mago

Our small session with the Interact Club boys to introduce them to the topic also brought in some great suggestions; Vatsal Sharma of class IX exclaimed, “Its outrageous!! Instead of spending Rs. 36,000 crores on the CWG, the government should have invested in public health.”

“The basic need for all Indians is to create awareness amongst all of us and ensure the people take proper measures to reduce poverty and child mortality. Human life is precious and we must learn to respect and protect it” wrote  Rishabh Shukla.

We hope to be able to carry forward this initiative and convert their empathy into solid action. The students recognized areas like Ashoka Place, slums outside their own school and Harijan Basti near The Hyatt as possible target groups to work with.

The documentary films on the issue of child mortality shook the students out of their complacency. Every 15 seconds a child dies in India, averaging a shocking 2 million children every year!  What made a deeper impact was that most die of easily preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia.

The students shared some very though provoking suggestions.

-         “We should go to these slum areas and collect information on what they eat, how they live and what are the problems they are facing. Then we should educate them and help them to get more information about these problems.” – Mayank

-         “We could supply them with some basic first aid like antiseptics, ORS, bandages, etc and we should make them aware of the latest government schemes like free treatment in government hospitals, free vaccines, etc”. – Vivek Singh

-         “We should use the RTI to ask the government what it is doing about the condition of these people and take actions according to that we should take action.” – Lalit Kumar

-         “We should have medical camps where we educate people from the slums about easy solutions to diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, dengue, etc”. – Poonam

-         “We could distribute healthy food to the slum children once a week. We could also make handicrafts and sell them to collect money for the poor.” – Simran

-         “We should form groups and take up this campaign, going to villages and slums and talking to the families who have suffered such problems. We should organize a meal plan for the poor families and contribute the best we can.” – Rakshita

Suggestions for slums in which the students could work included Bangali Colony, Kidwai Nagar, and Arjun Das jhuggi, Laxmi Bai Nagar.

The Foundation intends to take forward today’s interaction into a concrete community project which the students and staff together take ownership of, and make a lasting impact on the community they engage with. In the spirit of true citizenship!

This year we chose issues of Hunger, Hygiene and Infant Mortality, a part of Save the Children’s EVERY ONE campaign, so that in the coming months, the play can be used as an advocacy tool in different slums, community centres and schools.

SAPNE AAM AADMI KE is a sharp comment on the hypocrisy within our society, on issues of survival that the common man seems entrapped within, and the gender inequity that is still widely prevalent today. It seeks to inspire him soar beyond his daily bindings, release his fears and anxieties and direct his passion towards creating a New World, where Love and Respect is a given for every living being.

Having worked on this theme during the summer break, we intend to take forward these same messages to schools in Delhi during the new academic term.

Today, we engaged with the students of Class XI C and D from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Vigyan Vihar and left them with some important information on child mortality,  focusing on the proximity of such cases to their relatively sheltered lives.

Ms. Meenu Wadhwa, their co-curricular teacher,  believes that it is important to shift the students’ focus from “low waists and spikes” to  socially relevant issues that they can engage with. After screening short documentaries on the topic, the interaction that followed showed this shift of focus. The students came up with some great suggestions to tackle the issue of child mortality.

-         “We should make people aware of the common diseases and should tell them about the simple cures to them. We should put up boxes in shopping malls so that these rich people can donate some money and help the poor people.” – Ambuj Tripathi

-         “We should go to every house in the slums and tell them that a) they should keep their house clean, b) if their children fall sick they should immediately take them to the nearest government hospital,  c) if there are mosquitoes, etc in there area they should contact the MCD to get rid of them.” – Sidharth Sharma

-        ” If we contribute the amount of money we spend on unnecessary stuff  towards this cause, it’ll help someone to buy clothes, proper food, proper medical treatment and educate them.” – Neha

-         “If there’s a festival, instead of wasting money on gifts and dresses for ourselves, we should think about people in the slums and help them with things they really need.” – Sukhmeet Jaswal

-         “Doctors should treat poor people free of cost.” – Vaibhav

-       “We should cut down on our daily junk food and give that money to help feed poor children.” -Shashank

-         “Once a week, we should take hygienically cooked food and distribute it to deprived children.” – Monica

Outcomes:

The Foundation intends to take forward this interaction into a year long community project in which the students of KV Vigyan Vihar adopt a nearby slum and conduct a survey about the state of health and hygiene amongst the slum dwellers.

They  start an advocacy campaign focusing on the health of the children and women in the slum, and devise ways to improve their present conditions.

Some of the suggestions that came from the children this morning included contributing their pocket money towards buying hygienic food for the slum children, donating some of the money they spend on junk food, crackers etc. so that each family could be given packets of ORS to keep at home, in case of an emergency.

We are keen for the students to take ownership of the campaign they will be spearheading in the slum nearby. Their involvement in the community can only reap rich dividends for them, as they begin to realize that the rights and responsibilities of a citizen go hand in hand.

Today was an important beginning.

Red Earth’s The Monsoon Festival 2010 celebrates its fifth edition in 2010.

“We are digging deep into the earth, sowing seeds, planting saplings and singing to the wonds to help the flowers grow.

Come plant with us. Its both stimulating and delightful!”

Venue: Exhibit 320, F- 320, Lado Sarai, New Delhi.

Date: 25th, 26th   and 27th August, 2010

Time: 3 pm to 7 pm

Entry open to all.

Venue: The Fatehpur flower market, Chandni Chowk

Date: Wednesday, 25th August

Time: 6 am to 10 am

Clean up the Mandi and express our concern for it.

Tie floral Rakhis to the mandi-wallas at Mehrauli and pledge to keep them close to Qutab where they belong.

Rakshabandhan is celebrated to reassure the close bond we share.

Venue: MEHRAULI FLOWER MARKET, Near Qutab Minar
Date: Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Time: 11am to 4pm
Entry details: Open to all.
Buy your own Rakhis, Genda Phool and Lunch.
Dress Code: Genda Colours

For details contact himanshu@redearthindia.com / 41764054

Part of The Monsoon Festival 5
Conceived, Curated and Presented by Red Earth

Festival Partners:
Alliance Francaise de Delhi
LATITUDE 28
Exhibit 320
Manushi
Chintan
Take on Art Magazine

Shashank playing his part in Sapne Aam Aadmi ke

Everyone comes together for “The Salutation” and when the final echos of our cries subside, I look around and see everyone wearing the white Yuva Ekta T-shirts on their torsos and a magnificent grin on their faces! We had all found what we wanted at that moment!

I always bustle in, wondering how on earth do I manage to turn up late every freaking time. It’s maybe an old habit that dies hard! But this year’s Yuva Ekta was very special and it had it’s own share of ups and downs! I always imagined us going one up and outdoing ourselves! And I have a feeling that we did!

It was a heck of a ride, but it was fun!

We started out at the very prestigious Modern School Barakhamba Road. It was an experience, to be a co-facilitator, to actually guide the children, and be guided as well! We had some excellent plays and ideas that came forth and we discussed them, debated them and finally came to the conclusion that however different be our thinking, we ultimately want the same goal!

I remember the numerous mischievous smiles that used to greet me when I used to enter, Some shy “Hello”s, some pat on the backs, some eye contacts! I remember the beautiful gestures for each mischievous act, I remember some intelligent youngsters who made me look very dumb, I remember poking fun at the lot of you!

BlueBells has always been my second school (which technically makes it my third home) I used to be there more than any school, apart from my own! Bluebells brought in so much of energy into the workshops that we had to be always at our feet, quite literally! I have seen loads of strong friendships being formed, and hope they remain that way! I personally got a lot closer to my brothers from SBT! We had always been friends, but this year, I laughed with them I cried with them, I talked to them, I found them to be more like me in more ways than I could have ever imagined! I saw a well forged unity in the group that is hard to replicate! Thank you all!

I remember the first play I did, a disaster, but fun! I remember, the canteen wala giving me a hard time with the tab! I remember the smiling face of Subu greeting me everyday! I remember the most amazing little acts me and Rijul used to put up! But I also used to remember an intelligence, a maturity in his eyes when he was doing anything! I remember Gauri and how everyone loved her! I remember Dinesh sir, his silent presence, and his timely ideas (unlike me, he believes in speaking only when he has something constructive to say)! I remember Puneeta Ma’am, but there is no one line I can attach to her presence! I remember the Paneer Family, I remember Rijul always making Gagan laugh in the still, I remember Madhav’s walk! And Lalit forgetting his poems! Talking about forgetting, how can WE forget Hari Krishan! ! I remember Shahadutt Bhai’s “theherav” and his ” Oh, I see” ! I remember Gopal, Raja, Rasheed and Mahaveer (The chaar chand) ! I remember the dhafli and the dholak!

I remember it all, and I will miss it all!

But the thing I will miss the most is,

“KYA! DUS LAKH!”  :D

Love you guys more than you know! And I would Like to thank Ma’am Puneeta for helping me know myself better, I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher! !

Shashank Angiras(Facilitator at the Yuva Ekta 2010 workshops)