The CRY team visited 3 communities; each of them faced a different issue and had resolved it with the collective efforts of the villagers and KMAGVS, a CRY supported project.
-The first one faced the ‘gairan’ land issues. In Arajkheda the employees interacted with the farmers to understand the issues of the landless. The migrant worker and women were brought together because they felt strongly about their rights and wanted to find a solution that is sustainable. The ability of the farmers to reclaim what has been an ancestral farm land by raising their voices against inequities has enabled small changes like the collector registering their case and small victories like a balwadi for the children.
The second community was the local ‘Banjara’ community in a tiny village called Dharawati in Beed district. The children who faced problems due to difficult circumstances over there, are now going to school and engaging themselves in recreational activities .The children put up a lovely song and dance performance with the help of KMAGVS.
Bhadgaon was the third region. An abandoned space in this village was used as a gambling centre, but with the help of the project partners, the children and women converted it into a study room/common class for children of the village. Here too, we all were welcomed with poems and plays performed by the children.
One of the most striking features of KMAGVS is that, it spreads the message on child rights/community issues with the help of dance, songs, poems, performances. So, theatrical and musical edutainment methods are used to spread awareness. They teach children songs on child rights; elders are shown dramas on community rights, benefits of educating children etc.
We all returned with a great amount of enthusiasm and motivation to strive harder to restore the rights of the children through their work at CRY.
A motivated team of CRY with the KMAGVS representatives.
A CRY employee spending time with some children.
A boy in Dharawati,Beed district sings a song about Child Rights.
Children curiously watch the performances of their friends in the village.
Children in the Bhadgoan region performing a play on the importance of trees in the common class of the children of the village. Cry employees share their experiences:
Visiting Kala pandhari gave me an hands on experience about the ground activities of CRY-
Anjali Jadhwani
Our visit to Kalapandhari was to be a routine phase of ne w employee orientation. I painted a picture of what I thought I’d witness: forlorn faces, dispair, narrow mindsets and more. But that wasn’t to be. What I saw there, were stories of resolve, smiles of optimism and a display of genuine warmth. The team at Kalapandhari epitomized empathy and patience. This translated into everything they did towards restoring child rights in the community.
-Rashmi Menon
KMAGVS staff and the villagers are used to the song and dance medium to spread awareness. The children responded beautifully & were participating candidly...we too became part of this event…and it bought a change in my thinking...a thought …”Nothing is impossible’!!
-Shatarupa Chatterjee
In those 2days I’ve experienced a very high degree of self motivation within the people I met. The urge for doing something good for the community which I saw in them has ignited my motivation level too.
-Nikunj Desai
Some interesting learning’s were that the organization used a cultural medium of
‘pathnatya’ to raise awareness about issues of child rights and development, and slowly mobilized people to examine child and women rights more critically through balwadi schools, moving into water shed development programs and collective farming.
-Chandra Ramamurthy
To know more about CRY's projects ,Click here.
To view the KMAGVS photo-essay, Click here.
