Mountain Children’s Foundation
Changing the way the world perceives and works with children

Workshops

Partner Organisations

Strengthening of baal panchayats

Partner Organisation : 5 partner organisations
                State: Uttrakhand

          Supported by : Give2Asia

Workshop Report

For the year 2010, Give2Asia has formed a partnership with the Mountain Children’s Foundation in Uttrakhand, India, to empower the young people to make positive changes in their lives and communities by providing a forum from which they can speak and be heard, access resources and take action. The MCF plans to hold two day workshops with 5 partner organisations which would impact a total of 150 children. Each workshop will be a carefully structured two days full of discussion and activity with the children that will build their leadership and presentation skills and teach them about working together. Through these workshops the children will discuss issues concerning them and will be encouraged to build strong organic and concerned communities through their ability to interconnect and build networks across various local sub-groups and identities within the village, including making their own “bal sangathans” (children’s groups) in their villages.

The MCF also plans to make the concept of caring for the elderly and indigent a prominent theme in these workshops.

Day 1 :
The workshop commences with a few ice breaking games so that the children are able to relate to each other.

The games are followed by a discussion on the following topics:

• What is the Children’s group ?
• What are the advantages of the Children’s Group ?
• What are the activities conducted by the Children’s group ?

The components necessary for a children’s group were explained through an interactive game. Each child had to pick out the right components which would help their group become stronger.
The issue that would be focused on are as follows:

1. What is a group?
2. Whose group is it ?
3. How can children make the group stronger ?
4. What should be kept in mind while working in a group?
5. What are the causes which lead to breaking of the group?

A discussion would follow where children described the different types of groups they had in their village  

This was followed by a story - the main theme of the story is unity and strength in numbers, emphasizing that the children should work collectively.

Different games organized to get the children to understand:

1. ensure the children learn to follow rules.
2. To be able to be patient and understand each other better.
3. Remove any sort of apprehension and express themselves freely.
4. Expose the talent of each child.

The second half of the day focuses on importance of elder family members .

1. What kind of relationship the children and elders shared?
2. What can be learnt from the elders in the village?
3. How can the children  help them ?
4. How can the Childrens Group build better relationship with their elders?

The children present were divided into 6 groups and are instructed to make a work plan .
                        

Day 2 :
A quick review is done of the activities and ideas that are shared with the children on the previous day.  The children explaine what they have understood about their own groups and the basic rules and regulations that should govern it.

The children are asked to write down their work plan on how they could bridge the gap between themselves and the elders of their village – group wise presentations are to be made to the rest of the children and the facilitators. The Pradhan of the village should also be an invitee to these presentations. The main points of the presentations were:

• To ask their grand parent about information of when they were young.
• To help their grand parents.
• To say ‘ pranaam” (greet) their elders on the way to school and back from school.
• To give their grandparents their medicine when they are unwell.
• To get sweets for their grand parents from the fair.
• To take their grandparents for gentle walks in the evenings.
• Every Monday they would sing songs for their grandparents.
• They would help the elders in their work.
• They would help their garnd parents have a bath everyday.
• They would ask their grand parents about medicinal plants that were used.

The Mountain Children's Foundation,63-A Vyom Prasth, G.M.S Road,Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India
Phone: 91-135-6532937 Email: mcfglobal @ mymountains.org