01 Sep Learning beyond Classrooms – SEWA
As part of SEWA – Social Empowerment through Work Education, Class XII students of our School worked on a Project on Nutritional Diet at low cost to improve the health fitness of the students involved in the project as well as to disseminate its impact on the students of Shri Ramashrama Higher Primary School in the neighbourhood, during the National Nutrition Week from September 1st to 7th.
After the brainstorming session in the class room, the students planned the day’s activity step by step, keeping in focus its aim of learning about life and to build up their capacity to face diverse life situations. A group of students volunteered to take up the Anganavadi children. They came down to their level, spoke to them in their mother tongue, made friends with them and enthralled them with action songs and games all in their own languages – Konkani, Tulu and Kannada.
Another group was busy with salad preparation, crunchy with lots of textures, colours and flavors, armed with a bag of fiber and proteins and lemon juice. Salad making and preparation of lime juice included a lot of team work, a dash of inquisitiveness with an essence of love besides learning culinary skills. The simple maneuver of peeling, mixing and slicing vegetables was filled with joy and enthusiasm. Cleaning the messed up area with brooms brought the group together. The group sat together and shared the preparation made by them with the higher primary school children in fun and frolic. It was an enjoyable ‘Hands-on’ Activity Day for Class XII with children of lower income group. The cooperation extended by Shri Ramashrama Primary School made the group enjoy the ‘quite at home’ environment.
Class XI worked on Social Empowerment – Empathy. The first activity organized by the group was fund raising for the flood victims of Kerala and Kodagu. The collection, which included biscuits, tooth pastes, brushes, soaps, blankets, stationery, other items and cash was dispatched to the victims through the school. The outreach programme for hands on activity was at Jeevadhan – HIV/AIDS Centre at Gurupura, Kaikamba. The warm welcome of the director of the HIV centre, enthused the students to mingle freely with those children. Their happy smiles took away all the fear and the students were quite excited to talk to them and to listen to them. A short cultural programme entertained them and the few games that were conducted made those children leap with joy and excitement. Finally, before leaving the place all joined together in a group dance to the beat of the music. As the children waved goodbye with broad smiles on their faces, our students’ eyes were filled with tears. The waves of love and empathy lingered on in the group as they boarded the bus back to Mount Carmel.
The life skills focused upon during these activities were decision making, communication, improving relationships, culinary, self awareness and empathy.
