GNRC: South Asia :: News

Workshop - Eradicating Poverty affecting Children, Sri Lanka, February 2012

liviana@iwith.org (Liviana Mustafa) — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:54:00 +0100

Start: Getting the participants to be silent with the environment and spend some time with themselves.
Participants were given some time to spend with them walking silently in the meditation surrounding of Vishva Nikethan.

Continue reading Workshop - Eradicating Poverty affecting Children, Sri Lanka, February 2012

Workshop - Eradicating Poverty affecting Children, Pakistan, March 2012

liviana@iwith.org (Liviana Mustafa) — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:48:00 +0100

GNRC Youth Pakistan a group of young people (from different religions) aged 16-25 established in February 2012 and to hold an one day workshop on “Eradicating Poverty affecting Children” with the moral support of GNRC Pakistan and GNRC South Asia as stated above.

Continue reading Workshop - Eradicating Poverty affecting Children, Pakistan, March 2012

Consultation with Children on Poverty, Nepal, February 2012

hvp.nepal@yahoo.com (Hindu Vidyapeeth) — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:38:00 +0100

On 25th Feb 2012, Shanti Sewa Ashrma (SSA) and Hindu Vidyapeeth Nepal (HVP) organized a consultation program on the theme of GNRC. Interaction and Awareness program that took place in Hindu Vidyapeeth-Nepal with the children aged group 12 - 18. These children were mainly from grades 7 - 9 from both HVP and Children Study Centre of SSA as well as from other schools. Participants were divided into different groups for further discussion who were further facilitated by Mr Vishnu Bhakta Dangi (vice principal) and Mr Ghanshyam Yogi (administrative officer). There were 60 children altogether in number from various schools and community center. Among the 60 participants mainly Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians children participated.

Continue reading Consultation with Children on Poverty, Nepal, February 2012

Myochikai Youth Brainstorming in Preparation for Organizing Consultation with Children, Japan, ...

suchith@gnrc.net (Suchith Abeyewickrem) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:28:00 +0100

The meeting was held in the form of brainstorming with presentations by Power Point and "kamishibai" (traditional Japanese picture-card show), which was followed by discussions among participants. Four youths as facilitators took turns to make presentations based on their experiences and research focusing on what poverty means from different perspectives.

Continue reading Myochikai Youth Brainstorming in Preparation for Organizing Consultation with Children, Japan, February 2012

GNRC 4th Forum Consultation with Children & Young people on Poverty Solutions, India, ...

liviana@iwith.org (Liviana Mustafa) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:56:00 +0100

Among the objectives of the consultation session: to provide a space for children and young people to acknowledge the way poverty is affecting children in their community, to facilitate the children and young people dialogue regarding challenges faced by them, to collate ideas for action to change the situation, to document the experience from the consultation.

Continue reading GNRC 4th Forum Consultation with Children & Young people on Poverty Solutions, India, February 2012

‘Learning To Live Together’ Ethics Education training for Curriculum Developers of the ...

suchith@gnrc.net (Suchith Abeyewickrem) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:40:00 +0100

Twenty curriculum developers from the National Institute of Education (NIE), took part in a special training workshop on ‘Learning To Live Together’ with the aim of integrating the concepts and approaches to the national school curriculum.

Continue reading ‘Learning To Live Together’ Ethics Education training for Curriculum Developers of the National Institute of Education in Sri Lanka

GNRC South Asia celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children on the 20th of ...

suchith@sarvodaya.org (Suchith Abeyewickreme) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:45:00 +0100

World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is celebrated on the 20th of November as a renewal of the commitment to end all forms of violence against Children worldwide.

Continue reading GNRC South Asia celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children on the 20th of November, 2011

Regional Training of Trainers Course on the use of the ‘Learning To Live Together’ manual ...

suchith@sarvodaya.org (Suchith Abeyewickreme) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:09:00 +0100

The GNRC South Asia Secretariat is offering a Regional Training of Trainers Course on the use of the ‘Learning To Live Together’ manual for Ethics Education for Children. The course will be held at the Vishva Nikethan International Peace Centre in Sri Lanka from 13th-18th August, 2011.

Continue reading Regional Training of Trainers Course on the use of the ‘Learning To Live Together’ manual for Ethics Education for Children

India celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

sarvadhana@gmail.com (Sarvadhana Sangam) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:45:00 +0100

GNRC members in India gathered on the 20th of November to celebrate the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children.

Continue reading India celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

GNRC members in Nepal celebrate the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

mail2jagannath@yahoo.co.uk (Jagannath Kandel) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:57:00 +0100

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children brings people together to pray and take action for the well-being of children on Universal Children’s Day (November 20th) every year.
This year too Shanti Sewa Ashram (Peace Service Centre) took the leading role with an active involvement and support from Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) Nepal, Youth Society for Peace (YSP), Hindu Vidyapeeth-Nepal (HVP) and UNICEF Nepal.

Continue reading GNRC members in Nepal celebrate the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

World Day of Prayer and Action for children marked by prayers in Pakistan

pcma1@yahoo.com (David Paul) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:20:00 +0100

An inspiring event was put together by activists in Pakistan on November 19, 2010, to celebrate the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children.

Continue reading World Day of Prayer and Action for children marked by prayers in Pakistan

GNRC South Asia celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

suchith@gnrc.net (Suchith Abeyewickreme ) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:02:00 +0100

World Day of Prayer and Action for Children celebrated on the 20th of November as a renewal of the commitment to protect the inviolable dignity of children worldwide.

Continue reading GNRC South Asia celebrates the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children

Children’s Camp held in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

n.muthaliph@net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:00:00 +0100

The GNRC Sri Lanka Team organized their third Children’s Camp at the Trincomalee Sarvodaya District Centre (Eastern Province) from the 08 to the 10 February with the participation of sixty five kids representing nine villages of the Trincomalee District.

As Trincomalee is a major war torn area in Sri Lanka, it’s extremely especial the meeting of twenty each kids from three different communities; Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese. The other speciality was that the Sarvodaya District Centre was next to a Trincomalee Naval Camp, and there was live firing in the near by sea at the time of inaugural session on the 08th evening.

It was quite a big question mark for the participants as they may have started to wonder what we were planning to do. We later realize their thoughts while streaming through the photographs captured by our GNRC Team members.

Similar to the previous children’s camps held in Wallawaya and Ratnapura, the life tree exercise gave them a insight to their own lives and also made them comfortable being safe with in each other as every one of them were open and honest and understanding the other person by getting in to their shoes, but also this was quite a huge experience for the GNRC Team as when they started sharing their real life experience of the war and feelings of fear of loosing their own parents, community and friends.

The whole group was also taken to a Hindu Temple near by for a religious observance.

To read the complete article please click here
To have a look at the photos please click here
For more information please email us at n.muthaliph@gnrc.net

Continue reading Children’s Camp held in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Children’s Camp held in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:00:00 +0100

The GNRC Sri Lanka Team organized their second Children’s Camp in Pathakada, Ratnapura (Sabaragamuwa Province) from the 1 to the 3 February with the participation of fifty kids representing fifteen villages of the Ratnapura District. The camp was held at the “Pathakada Bikku Trainging Centre” in Ratnapura.

Similar to the previous children’s camp in Wallawaya, the life tree exercise gave them a insight to their own lives and also made them comfortable being safe with in each other as every one of them were open and honest and understanding the other person by getting in to their shoes.

As the words “respect”, “responsibility”, “empathy” and “reconciliation” were the key words for the camp and once the GNRC Team brought the kids to a level where they started understanding what each word mean, they started to build on from the point we stopped and they simply went forward by adding more value to it. They depicted what they grasped when they acted out small skits and role plays. The kids them selves realized that every person should have those qualities in order for this world to be a peaceful and unique place, thereby making it, a place where everyone would love to live in.

The Cultural night was done in a bit of grand scale, coordinated by the children them selves was very well organized, its a fact that they learnt a lot from each other.

To read the complete article please click here
To have a look at the photos please click here
For more information please email us at n.muthaliph@gnrc.net

Continue reading Children’s Camp held in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

Mahatma Gandhi being remembered in India

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0100

below is an short article written by an organizer;

“Children walked hurriedly towards the prayer venue at 7.15 a.m. on a cold January morning at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. As, I followed this impressive gathering of children I overheard a girl whispering gently to her friend 'Do you know this was the day Gandhiji was shot dead? After a few seconds the friend replied 'yes, I do and we are here to pay Anjali to him! The day long observance started with a children-led Inter-faith prayer where over 750 children participated. What followed was a moving day-long tribute to not only the Mahatma but to the values he treasured 'Truth' & Non-violence', which he lived everyday & grounded all his constructive work upon.”

“True to their commitment the People of Coimbatore came in large numbers on 30th January to participate in the events organized under three sections, namely, Samarpanam, Gandhi Stops and Anjali.”

20 institutions hosted over 5000 citizens of Coimbatore, coordinated by Shanti Ashram and the Young Indians. On the morning of January 30th people assembled on the banks of the Noyyal River and started the city-wide 60th Memorial Day observance which culminated in the evening with an Anjali, by renowned dancers, musicians & artists.

Continue reading Mahatma Gandhi being remembered in India

Teacher’s Awareness Programme on Value Education held in Nepal

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0100

The Principals from different schools in Nepal participated (all together there were 135 participants) in this programme on the 25 & 26 January 2008 held at the Bhaktapur District, Nepal. All together Nineteen Schools have taken part from Improve the Mind or Character of Somebody (EDIFY) Private Schools’ Organization Nepal, in the programme. It was very interesting that all the participants were young teachers. All the teachers contributed a lot in every session like; self-management, interaction, ethical games, songs, yoga, meditation.

There was a workshop on “self management tools”. It was based on interaction for example: as a teacher how to have a good relationship with the students, parents and the administration (and as human beings with all people). The teachers came up with good ideas. Every one collectively came up with the idea that “we should have a good foundation of well understanding and reliability among the people. In this way, we discussed on other ethical values”. There was power point presentation on the basic ethical values by Dr. C. M. Yogi. We organized some games, yoga class & singing song based on ethical values.

Programme outcomes: There was a discussion on “YADI YASTO BHAYO BHANE” (Imagine if something happens like this). All teachers actively took part in this interaction. This discussion dealt with various real life situations problems in the administration, teaching, behavior of teachers, students, ethics of teachers and so on. At the end we organized a teacher’s commitment to develop high self esteem for being a teacher. Every one together came up with an oath, in which ethical values of teacher was stated.

Written by Mr. Dadhiram Khnal

Continue reading Teacher’s Awareness Programme on Value Education held in Nepal

Inaugural Children’s Camp held in Wallawaya, Sri Lanka

n.muthaliph@southasia.gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0100

The GNRC Sri Lanka Team organized their inaugural Children’s Camp in Wallawaya, Monaragala (Uva Province) from the 11 to the 13 January with the participation of sixty-six kids representing thirteen villages of the Monaragala District. The camp was held in a temple named “Waliyaya Pirivena” in Monaragala.

The Children gathered on the 11th (Friday) after school at the temple and had the inaugural session around 6.00 p.m. in the evening where they had a couple of ice breakers and a short introduction to the camp. Surely the camp became the most happiest times of their entire life, as they always wanted to be playful, enjoy and learn at the same time.

The programme of the camp itself was completely different from the traditional programmes that you would have ever gone through. The GNRC Team always tried to emphasized, what does the simple words like “respect”, “responsibility”, “empathy” and “reconciliation” affects our lives.

“respect”, “responsibility”, “empathy” and “reconciliation” are just four simple words we always use in our schools, communities and also we always hear and see the use of these words in the newspapers and in the media every day, but did we ever understand what it meant and what a difference it can make? When the kids started to talk about these four words and then shared their own stories. When they kept on building up on every ones’ thoughts they realized that simply what those meant and the power of those words.

The kids realized that every person should have those qualities in order for this world to be a peaceful and unique place, thereby making it, a place where everyone would love to live in.

To read the complete article please click here
To have a look at the photos please click here
For more information please email us at n.muthaliph@gnrc.net

Continue reading Inaugural Children’s Camp held in Wallawaya, Sri Lanka

Children’s Camp on Performing Arts, in Nepal

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0100

This was a one day camp. Seventy-five children from grade five to eight participated in this programme on the 5 January. The camp had programmes such as yoga, meditation, discussions, interactions, friendship games and excursion to different places. There was a special session conducted by Dr. C.M. Yogi in which he was highlighting four basic ethical values: respect, empathy, reconciliation and responsibility specially relating with the problems of the present society. The major theme of the discussion was based on “practice of ethical values” with the counter questions of; how far it is possible to practice these values, what are the benefits of practice of such values, why is it essential in present world.

During the programme an art competition was organized to encourage students to understand the four ethical values. The facilitators took responsibility to judge and select first, second and third group.

There were many outcomes of this meeting; some of them can be highlighted as follows;
• Sharing knowledge about ethics education among children through Performing Arts.
• Children being able to share their experience through the art session and discussions.

Written by Mr. Dadhiram Khnal

Continue reading Children’s Camp on Performing Arts, in Nepal

The Lankan GNRC Team met the Sarvodaya District Coordinators

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:00:00 +0100

“talk ethics”
The Lankan GNRC Team met the District Coordinators

The Sri Lankan GNRC Team met the Sarvodaya District Coordinators and the Social Programe Coordinators of Hambanthota, Trincomalee, Wellawaya and Ratnapura at the Sarvodaya Headquarters in Morauwa on the 19 December 2007.

The intention of the meeting was to give a clear picture of the entire process of GNRC’s approach for ethics promotion. Details about objectives of GNRC, and the South Asia Regional Secretariat, the activities happening in the region, The Third Forum (May 2008), The Ethics Promoting Campaign and its objectives and the activities proposed to be held in Sri Lanka were well given to them.

Another intention was to sensitize them and to make sure that they give their maximum support and cooperation to the children’s groups once they’re formed.

The District Coordinators pledged their support and accepted to host the initial set of childrens camps on the following dates;

District		Date
Wellawaya	:	11 to 13 January 2008
Hambanthota	:	25 to 27 January 2008
Ratnapura	:	1 to 3 February 2008
Trincomalee	:	15 to 17 February 2008

The entire process in can be shown in a nut shell as follows;

The Initial Children’s Camp in all four Districts
Age group: 10 and 15

No. of children: 60 from each District
Background: members of Singithi Haula + children with leadership qualities / to be identified at different levels of the district.
Camp venue: preferably at a school
Cross section: Children across the district

►

Children’s Campaign committee in all four Districts, Exchange Programmes and the Ethics Promoting Campaign

No. of children: 16 from each District

These Children will work closely with the Sarvodaya District Centers and the National Committee based in Nagarodaya Center

►

Children’s Presenting the Report of the Campaign to His Excellency the Executive President and at the GNRC Third Forum

No. of children: 16 from each District

These Children will work closely with the National Committee based in Nagarodaya center for documentation and other activities

To see the report in English or Sinhala
email us at sa@gnrc.net for more information about the Sri Lankan Ethics Promoting Campaign

Continue reading The Lankan GNRC Team met the Sarvodaya District Coordinators

Creative Writing & Spiritual Gathering in Nepal

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:00:00 +0100

Children from different partner organizations were involved in this activity. Shanti Sewa Ashram organized a creative writing programme for the children on the 8 & 15 December 2007 at senior & junior levels. Similarly, Baal Shiksha also has conducted a creative writing programme in its different classes. The facilitators were assisting the children. They divided the children in to four groups. The groups were Peace, Love, Service & truth. The children worked in-groups. They had written heart touching poems & some stories related to values. The children were able to express their views on the four Ethical values. Around 90 children took part in this event.

In the third & the fourth week of December (22 & 29 December 2007), we had spiritual gathering. The children from different partner organizations participated in this activity. The gathering comprised of visiting 3 important religious centers: Pashupatinath (Hindu Temple), Baudhanath (Buddhist Shrine) and Jame Masjid (Mosque). In the beginning of each visit, Dr. C.M. Yogi highlighted the importance of understanding and respecting the different beliefs and faiths. About 75 students took part for this programme

Programme outcomes: The spiritual leaders gave an explanation of the history, their beliefs & the values of their religion. The children especially enjoyed the visit of Mosque, as most of the Hindu and Buddhist children had never been to Mosque before. They asked interesting questions and concerned religious leaders answered the queries of children. All participants were actively involved in interfaith prayers different spiritual places.

At the end of the programme, there was an interactive session. The children concluded that they understood that all religions share important basic human values. No religion is better or worse than the other. They also expressed understanding that one should respect all the religions of the world.

Written by Mr. Dadhiram Khnal

Continue reading Creative Writing & Spiritual Gathering in Nepal

GNRC Sri Lanka Distributes Ethics Story Books for Children

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:00:00 +0100

GNRC Sri Lanka dispatched story books printed about Ethics for Children to its partner units of Sarvodaya, namely the Community Health Unit and the Early Childhood Development Unit.

The Early Childhood Development Unit (ECDU) of Sarvodaya work in 225 tsunami villages with the support of UNICEF. These districts are scattered all around the country and have a huge reach of children. The ECDU conducts evening sessions (after school hours) for children to develop their creativity, through sports and recreational activities. They also support their education by establishing libraries in those villages. These story books will be sent to almost all these libraries so that a vast number of children will have access to these books.

The Sri Lankan map shows the districts, in which the ECDU-UNICEF project is functioning.

The Community Health Unit (CHU) of Sarvodaya work in all the Sarvodaya Districts in the Country promoting good health practices to people no matter they are young or old. The CHU works with young groups to mobilize most of their programmes.

More information about these Units can be obtained from http://www.sarvodaya.org/

Continue reading GNRC Sri Lanka Distributes Ethics Story Books for Children

Sharing knowledge about Ethics Education in Nepal

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:00:00 +0100

Various programmes with the objectives of “sharing knowledge about Ethics” were held in different places in Nepal. The first programme was conducted at Shanti Sewa Ashram. The children of Seeds for Peace (SOP) & Hindu Vidyapeeth (HVP) were present in the programme at the Shanti Sewa Ashram on 17, 23 & 24 November 2007. The teachers of HVP and members of Shanti Sewa Ashram were present for this programme. all together around seventy children were present for this programme. We arranged some yoga items to warm up the children.

Dr. C.M. Yogi was also present for the programme. He highlighted the objectives of GNRC and the EPC. After that, Mr. Dadhiram Khanal presented a short talk for children about his experience of participating in the “Preparatory Meeting for the Ethics Promotion Campaign” in Coimbatore, in India. The teachers; Laxman, Sujan, Minakshi & committee members of the Ashram were present for the programme.

The second programme was held in Baal Shiksha Programme (Education for Children) run by the Baal Bhojan Programme (Children Food Programme) on the 25 & 30 November 2007, with the objective of “sharing knowledge about Ethics”. Baal Shiksha starts from 7.00 a.m. in every morning. According to their age & class, the children are in three different classes. Dr. Suddha, S. Rauniyar who started the Baal Bhojan & Baal Shiksha was also present. Dr. Rauniyar highlighted the objective of the programme in every class. Mr. Dadhiram Khanal gave a short talk for children in every class about his experience of participating in the “Preparatory Meeting for the Ethics Promotion Campaign” in Coimbatore, in India. The programme was concluded with some songs by the children. We had wonderful time in Baal Shiksha. The teachers; Ambika, Shailu, Rajesh, Binod & members of Baal Bhojan also were present in the programme.

Written by Mr. Dadhiram Khnal

Continue reading Sharing knowledge about Ethics Education in Nepal

Ethics Promoting Campaign India Coordination Committee Meets

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:00:00 +0100

The India Ethics Campaign Coordination Committee met at the Shanthi Ashram in Coimbatore from the 27 to the 29 November to discuss the Campaign Plans in India. The Committee comprises of Ms. Farida Vahedi (Delhi), Mrs. Kalpana Gandhigram ( Tamilnadu), Mr. V V Narayanan (Kerala), Mr. Parthipan (Shanti Ashram), Mrs. Razia Ismail (IACR, Delh)i, Mr. Satish Kanna (itrendz Multimedia, Tamilnadu), Dr. S R Subramanian (Shanti Ashram, Tamilnadu), Mr. Sundaresan (Tiruvanamalai), Mr. Vijayaragavan (Shanti Ashram), Dr. Kezevino Aram (Shanti Ashram) , Ms.Dhoni (Focolare, Bombay), Mr. Sugumar David (IRDS, Andhra Pradesh)

They discussed various issues pertaining to the Ethics Promoting Campaign of the South Asia Region, which is targeted at the GNRC Third Forum. India plays a vital role in South Asia, being the biggest country in the region with a diverse community. The report of this meeting can be obtained by emailing us as sa@gnrc.net

Continue reading Ethics Promoting Campaign India Coordination Committee Meets

GNRC South Asia Launches Ethics Promoting Campaign on 1 December 2007 in India, Nepal & Sri ...

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:00:00 +0100

“Walking together”
100 days. 1,000 activities. 10,000 children.
The ethics promoting campaign will be engaging nearly 10,000 children across the countries in the South Asia Region and be based on the previous Regional and Global experiences related to promoting ethics education.

The campaign will be based on the previous Regional and Global experiences related to promoting ethics education. The specialty in this campaign will be designed for children in all the countries in the Region.

This will be done through different thoughts, aspects, creativity by different groups of children and those leads to different campaigns in their own countries and ultimately get merged in to a single campaign in South Asia region.

email us at sa@gnrc.net or visit http://www.southasia.gnrc.net/en/gnrcsa_ethics_main.html for more information about the Ethics Promoting Campaign

Continue reading GNRC South Asia Launches Ethics Promoting Campaign on 1 December 2007 in India, Nepal & Sri Lanka

300 Children Come Together in Coimbatore, India for “Ethics – Care and Share”

n.muthaliph@gnrc.net (Nooranie Muthaliph) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:00:00 +0100

Every Year Shanti Ashram brings together 300 rural children from 25 local government & private schools in the Run for Unity programme. The event was conceived to spread the message of Universal Brotherhood & Unity. The first run 4 unity took place on 9th Oct, 2005, patronized by the United Nations and held during the International Year for Sports and Physical Education. Since then this annual event has been world-wide. The theme for this year's program was Discovering the Other. The forenoon session began with a rally from a neighbouring school to Shanti Ashram, followed by sharing of experiences of children. In the afternoon session the participating children were addressed by different Resource Persons on Ethics Education covering Respect, Empathy, Reconciliation and Responsibility.

As a prelude to the South Asia Ethics Promotion Campaign, The Ethics Promotion Workshop representing over 300 children was organised in Shanti Ashram, Coimbatore on 17 Nov 2007. The workshop was divided into four groups. Dr. Kezevino Aram, Mr. Parthiban and Mr. Vijayaraghavan acted as Resource Persons for the three groups and were assigned to take up Respect, Empathy, Reconciliation & Responsibility. The fourth group representing Arts & Culture, was sub-divided into two and Mr. Arun and Ms. Lioba acted as Resource Persons for Dance and Painting respectively.

The theme based workshop had the children sharing their experiences related to their problems in family and identifying the good and the bad. Children shed their inhibitions and came forward to discuss alcohol related problems of their father’s and insufficient financial resources to sustain their education. They designed a Savings Scheme where an initial amount was raised and they resolved to increase the savings which will benefit the children in need of educational assistance. Through this initiative the children emphasized the importance of respecting each others needs. In another
group children were asked to identify the good and bad behaviours in their daily life. Role play was used to demonstrate the good and bad behaviours which stressed the need to empathize with their neighbours. Followed by discussions and story telling sessions the children strengthened their purpose of pursuing the good. The third group had the children put themselves in a situation to experience the need for reconciliation and to improve their ability to respond to these
situations.

Children were jumping with joy and bumping into each other in the dance workshop. For manyof them this was their first experience of dancing in a group. The young painters had an opportunity for their creative expression. With their hands painted in different colors they filled the white canvas with colorful hands symbolising unity.

Finally all the groups assembled together and representatives from each group shared their experiences and outcome of their workshop. Most of the children were visibly energised by their participation in the workshops as it was evident from their sharing amongst them. In an event which was organised for children the key activities were carried out by the
children themselves.

Click here to view photos
For more photos visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/south_asia_ethics_camp/

Continue reading 300 Children Come Together in Coimbatore, India for “Ethics – Care and Share”