Vedanta Khushi Members spent their valuable time with children at Malla Talai in Udaipur on 25 August 2012. Team organized a painting program for children. A team member shared his experience and feeling. He believes that, Colours reflect your imagination and also your skills. When one draws a painting or colours a picture, the choice of colours reflect the mind and hand coordination the determination of achieving that success. This is the reason we chose this medium for the workshop.
INDIACSR News Network
UDAIPUR: Day 25th August 2012, and the entire VEDANTA KHUSHI team was fully geared-up to meet the children of Malla Talai, Udaipur. Initiated by Vedanta Group, KHUSHI is the project to Care for the Underprivileged Children in India.
Sanjay, Shiva, Vishal, Mukesh, Kalu, Kajal, Madhu, Ganga, Anjali, Manisha, Kali, Pooja, Jamuna, Raj, Suman, Chootu, Chooti, I can keep naming them as by now I can identify a lot many children. We were now sure that the number of children attending the workshop will increase and so we had taken those precautions in our preparations.
Kalu Ram, our contact, called us to inform that children are all getting ready and taking bath and brushing teeth. Some of them have even got their clothes ironed. The message as well received by the children and they kept their promise.
VEDANTA KHUSHI’s 9 volunteers reached the place exactly as decided and were just thrilled to see the loud welcome noise of wishes and sound echoing.. “Sir Aaa Gaye” (Sir has come). The place was already cleaned up. We counted the children, as expected, they were more, and the figure was touching 125. We divided the children into two groups, children below 3 years and children from 3-15 years. Once done the volunteers checked their hygiene and almost 80% of the children had bath, brushed teeth and had combed their hair.
“Trust me, children are children, it was difficult to identify them once they followed simple hygienic principles. No matter where they are borne, but when you look at them, they are as true as any other child.” a Vedanta Khushi Team Member said.
Once the children were seated on the mats, it was time to speak to them on one to one basis. Asking about what they like and dislike, have they ever gone to school, which film they have seen recently, about their parents, their brother-sister and many such questions. What we could gather was that some studied for some time but the school did not support their interest. Rest never bothered as their parents never took interest. Some were keen to continue but the facilities are not there. When we asked their parents, the only reply we got was that they need a school around their vicinity which can keep the children interest alive. Moving forward, amazingly, the youths and the parents, particularly the mothers of children, had almost cordoned the area. Their support showed they had a lot of interest in this activity which was being conducted first time in their locality. And children were on the top of their joy. We had brought with us a colouring book and also wax colours for every child. Their excitement had no boundaries. The VEDANTA KHUSHI volunteers explained them about the colouring and also what they needed to do.
Colours reflect your imagination and also your skills. When one draws a painting or colours a picture, the choice of colours reflect the mind and hand coordination the determination of achieving that success. This is the reason we chose this medium for the workshop.
But before the distribution, children were asked to conduct a prayer – Vande Mataram was their favourite. They sang on top of their voice.. but only two lines kept repeating.. I understood rest of the prayer was not known to them. It was time to now sit and colour the pictures and the pin-drop silence took us for a surprise again. Children were quietly colouring the pictures. In between they came and asked for the choice of the colours and that are they doing alright. The entire volunteers had got themselves placed with the children and holding their hand helped them finish a nice work.
Surprisingly, the batch below 3 years was not less. No fights and only picture painting was going on. The parents of these children also sat with them and started helping them holding their hand.
For one day, may be for few hours, we could give them that much needed respect and attention, they always lacked but deserved. Our attention brought a much needed confidence in them. Their body language and communication had become easy and acceptable.
See the pictures on the blog www.khushi-creatinghappiness.blogspot.in to believe the magic in their hands. These children virtually copied the original picture. Each and every picture was a master-piece and all had that enthusiasm to be better than the other. Girls took away the credit this time as well. The hidden talent was no more hidden, it was a treasure.
Once the painting was over, it was time to select the best paintings and VEDANTA KHUSHI decided to award 10 children, 5 girls and 5 boys. The award was a pencil box with a pencil, eraser, sharpener and scale. The message was clear, keep using these articles as they are meant for education. Finally as part of providing nutrition, we distributed fruits, nicely and hygienically packed, for every single child. They were asked to eat it all on location.
VEDANTA KHUSHI noticed, there were quite a few who were more than interested in completing the colouring and kept the fruits on wait. The workshop lasted for 3 hours on 25th August 2012 and it was time to leave. We too felt it hard to leave as much these children felt it hard to let VEDANTA KHUSHI go. With some tears, some hands holding our hands, we could hear as many voices, SIR, PLEASE OPEN OUR SCHOOL, WE WANT TO STUDY (Sir, hamara school khulwa digiye, hume padhna hai).
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