Pratibimb - 2007 - a resounding success

GOONJ.. a voice, an effort

RECEIPIENTS
OF
SCHOOL TO SCHOOL

’ PRATIBIMB - 2007 ‘

The participants -

PRATIBIMB 2007, a five days event thus brought together over 300 participants from far flung villages of many states & from some of the capital’s best schools, for a one-on-one interaction.

Coming all the way from Kashmir, Assam, Orissa, U.P., Bihar & Tamil Nadu, the participating children (ranging from 8-15 yrs) were part of GOONJ’s award winning ‘School to School’ (S2S) initiative, forging long term strategic relationship between rich urban schools and resource starved rural school. S2S channelises underutilized material like old uniforms, water bottles, stationary material etc. lying idle with urban kids, to their rural counterparts for whom it plays a critical role in continuing their education.

The setting of the event at the Gandhi Smriti campus also brought its own influences and serenity to the proceedings. While better coordination and preparation resulted in better participation and showcasing of rural children’s talent, they also took an active part in managing and sharing the work and duties at the two Community Halls at Sarita Vihar where they were staying for the event.

Most rural kids came from difficult circumstances like children from the strife torn Kashmir, child workers from carpet & bangle industry in Firozabad (U.P), children from the most backward Mussahari community (known for eating rats in dire circumstances) from Bihar and children from places like Kalahandi Orissa.

Enthusiastic participation from urban schools- On the other hand children from many prestigious schools from Delhi & NCR like Ryan International, St. Mary’s, Bhatnagar International, St. Marks, Rosary, Cambridge, Bal Bharati, DLF School etc. spent a lot of time with their rural friends. 15 kids (with two teachers) traveled all the way from Cambridge Jalandhar to participate in the event. While GOONJ has recently started its formal operations in Jalandhar, School to School is making a good progress there, involving a number of prestigious city schools.

Activities -

The urban and rural kids shared experiences about schooling, expressing perceptions about rural/urban education through relationship building exercises with theater, group discussions, drawings & Bal sabha etc. The participating urban School teachers & NGO representatives also played an active role in facilitating the interface.

On the first day GOONJ took out the rural kids on an education/fun trip to various places in Delhi including India Gate, Children’s Park & Red Fort. In the evening, the kids organized a cultural evening at the community center (where they were staying). A gathering of participants and volunteers presented songs, plays, dances etc. giving an insight into their hidden talents. Given the limited resources and training available to these kids, their efforts and talent came as a pleasant surprise to the audience.

On the second day the urban and rural children got together in the peaceful surroundings of Gandhi Smriti campus. The children from Kashmir started the programme with a colorful welcome dance and song performance. It was followed by introductions, group discussions, group games etc where children form both ends of the spectrum got an opportunity to communicate with each other. In the evening the rural kids and the GOONJ volunteers took over the open grounds of Gandhi Smriti to enjoy many outdoor games.

On the third day when children from Assam presented a brilliant Bihu dance performance, they were soon joined by the urban children and schoolteachers, making it a memorable experience for everyone. It was followed by urban schools sharing experiences around implementing S2S.

The Vice Principal of DLF Sahibabad Ms. Seema Jairath along with some other participants from last year’s event, were specially invited to share the learning of last year and how and what new things have been implemented since then.

Ms. Jairath thanked GOONJ for providing their kids a valuable learning experience through the event. She talked at length about how the programme has become an integral part of all the school’s initiatives. The event came to an end with a Bal Sabha, where the children and teachers spoke openly about various education related issues in the cities and villages of India.

GOONJ gave a small token gift as a symbol of appreciation to selected participants, after which everyone went across to Rajghat and paid homage to Bapu, before leaving the venue.

Comments -

“We were very happy to see the participation grow almost triple from last year. The urban children were unanimous in their admiration for the sheer resilience and determination of their rural friends. With more children coming from different states, this year’s interaction was even more diverse and meaningful.”- The GOONJ team.

Zarifa Akhtar, a Class IX student from Srinagar who performed traditional Kashmiri folk dance along with her two visually impaired friends, described her first visit to Delhi as a memorable one.

Chandra Rupa from DLF Public School, Sahibabad and her classmates conveyed that they are going to present a play in their school based on their interaction during PRATIBIMB.

Raja Kumar, from the Musahari community (Gidha village, Bihar) talked about his dream of becoming a doctor, despite the sorry state of education & scarcity of food in his village.