Bal Sabha - When the children took control

We had our Bal Sabha on August 3rd and initially it was looking like that very few volunteers showed their interest but later on we were 11-12 volunteers and 40 kids :) .

The Program started with the meaning of Bal Sabha and then the experience sharing of the kids. Elder kids Ashmina,Suby,Sona,Zulekha,Danista,Kiran,Poonam etc all shared their experience of being with Prayas.Their talent of Dancing,Singing,Reciting Poems and Imitating volunteers was superb.

Younger kids like Seefat,Parvina Sonu ,Dolly & Ruby were overly enthusiastic about their turn and their poems . Later on Volunteers like Anand ,Selva ,Charu,Linkan ,Satyan,Raj ,Darshan(Me) Shared their experiences of working with Prayas and the journey . New volunteers Bina,Pulkit ,Bhawana were enthusiastic enough to know the system better .

Raj could manage fruits(Banana & Guava ) for all the kids but unfortunate thing was that we the volunteers could not get Bananas :( .

Anyways overall the Bal Sabha went very nice and hope this series will carry on with new energy .We will require new inputs from all the volunteers to make Bal Sabha better and crispier .

Bal Sabha will be on every first Sunday of a month and you people can send your valuable inputs to Linkan (subudhi.linkan@gmail.com ) ,She will be organizing this event with Raj .

Here are the pictures from the event.

- Darshan Mehra

Seedhi sapaat zindagi bawaal ho gayi!!!!!!!

Heera hates being ordered around, Sonu is a tedious worker, Shahbaaz is the naughtiest one and loves to fantasize, and Rabina has not finished her homework. Charu is totally out of the mind trying to make kids mug up the spellings, so that they score well in their new school –“Nayi Disha”, and I sit there gawking at everything.

I went with almost nil expectations, to this place, met Arun. Arun was just making me aware of all the setup, or let’s frame it this way; I was having my orientation session at Prayas, when these kids poured in. Believe me, I was taken aback by their confidence, with which they extended their hands to shake mine, and asked my name. You don’t always require a convent education to be confident enough; this belief of mine was strengthened that vey day.

I always wanted to do something for the underprivileged kids for the country. Educating them is a fairly appealing idea. Charity begins at home, with this pious intention; I decided to teach my maid at home. Poor woman agreed to my torture smilingly, and there I began with my sessions. For the reader’s info she was pregnant at that time. To my horror she met with a miscarriage the 2nd week of my classes. I dropped the idea of charity at home, that very moment.

Then I came across this organization called Prayas, through one of my old school acquaintance, and leaped in for the chance. After being at the place for very few times, I regret the fact of not coming across it earlier. The delight of being with these kids, who are equally precious to their parents like any other kids, is unfathomable. At least I feel I am making a better use of my life. I do not want any credit for this, because the sheer pleasure and the satisfaction which I get being a very dormant part of the organization –which is full of enthusiastic youngsters, is more than enough. It’s amazing to see the free flow of youth energy in all these non-profitable endeavors. And I find it a better use of my idle time, better than hanging around in the malls punctuated at every corner of the city. That is why I named this composition as “Seedhi sapaat zindagi bawaal ho gayi”. Hanging around with friends is just one normal thing you can do. I got cooler ways than that!!!! And guess what… I am loving it!! :-)

Anvita Shukla