19Apr

Yuva Café: Brewing youth empowerment

April 19, 2021 makkalajagriti 3

Anita* was looking for a place where she could learn some basic computer applications to help her get a job. Her friend Ravi* told her about a place which was offering a course that taught basic computer skills – free of cost! Jumping at the idea, Anita rode her scooter and parked by a building which had a board that said Yuva Café. “A rather odd name for a place where people learn about computers”, she thought. She went in, had a chat with the teachers there and began her lessons. Observing what was happening around her – deeper conversations between the students and teacher, lessons on how to speak English with greater effect, a small library covering a variety of subjects – she realised that Yuva Café wasn’t just a place to get some basic computer knowledge, there was a whole lot more!

Now, the term Café evokes myriad settings. A place to get a quick coffee. A place to catch up with friends. A place to begin your startup. A place to read. A place to contemplate quietly. In the same manner, Yuva Café as a concept was set up to serve multiple needs of youth, all under one roof.

Through Makkala Jagriti’s flagship program for youth, Yuva Jagriti, we set up two Yuva Cafés in Bengaluru – in Malleshwaram and Halasuru – safe spaces for youth to explore their dreams, enhance their skills, and find themselves!

Teenage is often described as a crucial time, a time that bridges childhood aspirations and life as an adult. It is at this time that academic and career decisions are taken. What helps further is an understanding of options that lie ahead, without the constraint of expectations and peer pressure. Yuva Café becomes the ideal place for all of this to happen, with such guidance mixed with fun and games.

Key contributors to youth empowerment are academic support and scholarships. When there exist certain difficulties in grasping a subject, they can turn into causes of lack of motivation to move on ahead. This is where academic support plays a major role in ensuring the youth stay enthusiastic and motivated with their studies. Scholarships for academically strong students, meanwhile, ensure they do not discontinue their studies for want of funds. All this, combined with mentoring, helps the youth choose a path which is right for them. Take the story of Arjun*, for instance. Arjun has been strong with his studies. However, the financial situation at home was quite difficult, leading to a situation where he would have to discontinue studies after high school and take up a job to support his family, as there were no funds to help him with his higher studies. Because of his academic performance, Arjun gained a scholarship through Yuva Jagriti, and is now well on his way to studying for the National Defence Academy entrance… a few steps away from a career in the Indian Armed Forces.

Speaking to community leaders, one common gap often expressed is that of skill development for job readiness. In under-resourced communities, where opportunities are few but dreams are many, it takes but one avenue to bridge that gap… and many a youth has found that avenue in Yuva Café.

A detailed look at what happens at Yuva Café shows a wide range of courses that contribute to youth development. Programs in computer training, spoken English proficiency and life skills are among the popular draws for youth, and these programs are available without any prerequisites. Students who have discontinued school studies owing to a variety of circumstances have the opportunity to seek support at Yuva Café, do what’s needed to catch up on their studies, gain guidance on available pathways that match their interests, and successfully obtain their high school leaving certificates.

But then is it all about finding what you want to do in life and figure out a way to achieve it? No, there’s a whole lot more. Just a little earlier, we spoke about how crucial one’s teenage is. Circumstances do have an impact on youth – traumatic events are hard to shake off well into adulthood, and the difficulties that arise out of the aftermath do get in the way of a youth’s progress. Yuva Café is one safe haven that provides a judgment-free space with access to professional counselling and guidance.

What one can gain at Yuva Café is not limited to the physical space that houses the Café. Before the pandemic, the youth got to participate in a number of activities outside the Café too. One activity that springs in the memory of every youth is the outbound excursions to sights in and around Bengaluru. The takeaways from such excursions included the importance of teamwork, punctuality, empathy for the needs of one another and increased self-confidence.

The youth have also had opportunities to visit offices of multinational companies. With many of our youth aspiring to work at such companies, it was a great experience for them to feel the work environment for themselves and make more informed decisions going ahead. Through these companies, the youth learned about working in dynamic teams, time management, and a wider range of career opportunities beyond their imagination!

Parents are thrilled with the sea change they’ve seen in their children after spending time at Yuva Café. We’ve heard from parents who said their kids are a lot more helpful at home, do their chores without being told and contribute to household decision-making too.

Yuva Café has also opened doors to youth, especially young women, who’ve had a gap between jobs or right after completion of studies as they began to grow their families. It can be quite challenging to get back into the workforce after such gaps. That’s where a stint at Yuva Café helps. With youth empowerment programs at hand to provide skill development, which further ensures youth catch up with what employers look for at the time, the youth gain a great deal of confidence that they can compete in the cutthroat world of job-searching. What’s more, Yuva Jagriti has attracted employers from across the spectrum to participate in job fairs organised by us, and that has thrown doors wide open for our youth.

The aspirations of our youth are not restricted to employment alone. Some have inclinations towards starting their own businesses, while some are determined to be in positions of service to the nation and the community. Among the youth currently connected with Yuva Café, we have aspirants for the Armed Forces, Administrative Services and Police Service too.

The pandemic certainly threw a spanner in the works as far as engagement was concerned. However, Yuva Jagriti’s team of determined facilitators ensured everyone was connected online and available for sessions over the web – distance may have gotten between us all, but the hunger for knowledge and fellowship brings us back together. In spite of being away from the physical space of Yuva Café, the essence of Yuva Café prevailed in the youth and the excitement to carry on with their pursuits went unhindered. What’s more, the urge to help the communities they live in took over the youth, and they donned their volunteer hats and actively participated in fundraising and grocery distribution drives to ensure no one in their surroundings were left behind.

At the end of the day, these words from the youths themselves say it all:

“This is the best place to change your life.” – Apoorva*, working towards a career in electronics.

“If you want freedom of expression and the freedom to learn what you want, join Yuva Café. This is a safe space to build yourself in spite of past difficulties.” – Rajeev*, who ensured no home in his neighbourhood was without basic groceries during the pandemic.

“Yuva Jagriti is very important, as it is a space to improve lives. My life has changed, it has become more beautiful, and it has exposed me to my own aspirations.” – Shreeja*, a mother-of-two working towards a return to the workforce.

“You will be taught well and with empathy. This is a good place to be.” – Saraswati*, who aims to become a senior police officer one day.

“Find your skills and capabilities by joining Yuva Jagriti; it’ll open a whole new world for you.” – Ruchi*, on her way to becoming a mechanical engineer.

*Names changed to protect identities

01Apr

The ‘New Normal’ in Early Education – Learning During the Pandemic

April 1, 2021 makkalajagriti 5

The ‘New Normal’ in Early Education – Learning During the Pandemic

It’s 8 a.m. somewhere in the world. The breakfast plates have been put away, the computer screens are on and studded with little images of children, with the teacher somewhere in the mix. For the next few hours, the children listen intently to the teacher imparting the day’s lessons. This has become the reality for children across the world – a ‘new normal’ – staying away from school to prevent possible infection, and balancing that with continuous education.

The challenge with striking this balance is closer to home, right here in India. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) for children between the ages of three and six is a critical need. Numerous studies have shown that 90% of a child’s brain development is driven by early experiences before they reach the age of 5, setting the pace for development right through adulthood. The absence of ECCE can have a lasting negative impact, with consequences such as early discontinuation of formal education. The challenge for uninterrupted early childhood care and education lies in accessibility, and this is a challenge across rural, semi-urban and urban areas. The new normal which we described earlier – online education and remote learning – how does one ensure this is brought to children in under-resourced communities?

This challenge extended itself to Makkala Jagriti’s methods too. Prior to the pandemic, our facilitators engaged with teachers and children regularly at the Anganwadis (Government Pre-Schools). The cheers of children while performing songs with actions and the learning-by-doing approach taught to them were both exciting and effective. The pandemic, therefore, raised the question – can we ensure the same excitement if we could provide opportunities to learn remotely? This is where our long-running approach of involving the larger community bore fruit.

In order to successfully impart early childhood care and education to children from Anganwadis, we had to bring teachers and parents into the fold to expose them to the new methods of learning. Uninterrupted learning could particularly be hastened by strengthened bonds between children and their parents. To enable this, regular meetings and workshops were organised online with parents through our facilitators, and home visits were conducted.

That brings us to an important tool that we’ve seen in extensive use during the pandemic – technology. Technology tries to bridge the gaps caused by closures of educational institutions, especially Anganwadis. However, not everyone has access to technology. For every child that has access to a smartphone, there will be more who don’t. In order to provide equitable access to uninterrupted education across the board, we devised an approach.

The first step was to identify:

• Parents who had access to smartphones and the internet
• Parents who had basic phones
• Parents who had neither

With the parents who had smartphones and internet access, dissemination of learning material was relatively easier. We shared daily activities and videos with them regularly through WhatsApp groups and YouTube links (through Makkala Jagriti’s own YouTube channel for ECCE material). For parents with basic phones, daily tasks were conveyed through phone calls, while workbooks were also distributed especially to them and those who did not have access to any device. Community visits by facilitators were also then organised on a weekly basis at the very least.

Through this multi-modal approach, parents have been empowered to don the hats of teacher and friend as well. Before teaching their children, they were guided through the various activities and concepts to ensure the right messages are passed on to the children. These workshops empowered parents to build a solid foundation for communication with their children, facilitating homework and feedback, and – overall – strengthen their bond with their children. This makes a world of difference in every child’s self-confidence.
The facilitators too faced different challenges when it came to working during the lockdown. When Work-From-Home became a necessity, our facilitators had to quickly understand the best possible ways to disseminate information and lesson plans, especially online. The efforts of our time were widely recognised as a standard for imparting Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) by the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Karnataka – which instituted the program “Maneya Angaladalli Anganwadi, Maneyalliye Oota, Maneyalliye Paata” (An Anganwadi at home, with meals at home and lessons at home). Through this program, the possibility to reach 66,000 Anganwadis with the ability to cover over 1.3 million children was achieved. Work is now underway to fulfil these possibilities consistently.
With this ‘new normal’, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had to take a step back and rework their strategies and aims to help those in need. Makkala Jagriti is one such NGO in Bangalore which devised different methods to reach out to children and continue the learning journey for Anganwadi children, while spreading the knowledge and importance of ECCE.

For more on what we do, visit us at www.makkalajagriti.org.

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25Mar

Children and Art – A Journey Towards Self-Expression

March 25, 2021 makkalajagriti 9

Reminiscing about our days at school, one memory that rings clear is of a class we would never miss, come rain or shine. A class in which we put away notebooks and pens, and pulled out large white sheets of paper, paints and brushes, and coloured pencils. The ART class. A class where we would feel free… but to an extent. Perhaps the journey in the world of still life, of scenic views, gave rise to an exploration into our creativity, but that was okay as long as we coloured within the lines we drew, use the right colour for the right object, and did not make mistakes – lest our work be judged without affirmation.

This hereditary hesitation had to be transformed somewhere. Our concentration on the holistic development of the child led to us organising a workshop for our facilitators on the subject of Art as a Medium of Instruction. But… before our facilitators could guide children through art, they had to be students themselves. This came with the expectation to unpack past learnings and start anew. We’ll tell you how this happened.
One of the tasks assigned to our facilitators was to draw a picture of scenery. Now, our mind automatically tunes itself to draw a mountain, a river, some clouds, a tree or two, a few V-shaped birds. “Go ahead with what you’d like to draw as scenery”, our facilitators were told. “But, do not use an eraser.”
Do not use an eraser. Unthinkable! What if we made a mistake? There lay the first eye-opener for our facilitators. Mistakes happen when rules, procedures and processes are not followed. Do rules, procedures and processes exist when one is to draw one’s own perspective of scenery? One of the first lessons of this workshop was that there is no such thing as a mistake when on a creative pursuit. Once that ‘restriction’ was uprooted, the imaginations knew no bounds!

Now, when there are new lessons learnt, it’s always a good thing to reflect upon it – reflection is a key component of holistic development. For many of our facilitators, reflection was a new experience… so much so that they took the opportunity to reflect upon reflection itself! This workshop enabled our facilitators to view art from the eyes of the children they would teach – what methods worked, what methods would need review. Our facilitators were also introduced to tools to assess a child’s progress while imparting holistic education. This, followed by accurate and constructive feedback, forms the cornerstone of the holistic development of the child.
An important reflection from our facilitators was that when it came to exploring one’s creativity, there is no dearth of resources. One can apply oneself to use materials that are available within one’s grasp to bring the best possible expression of one’s imagination. Once these materials are before us, a step-wise plan gives us the ability to explore and create without difficulty.
At the end of the workshop, our facilitators were exposed to a wide variety of media and materials, and that guiding children without placing boundaries goes a long way in open expression and raised self-confidence within children. There are no mistakes, only alternatives to a way forward!