In accordance to the Our Responsibiity to Chidren (ORC) program, an orientation and Training of Master Trainers was organized by Sri Aurobindo Society and Directorate of School Education from 5th August to 7th August, 2019. The introductory speech for the program was given by Sri Vijay Bhai by emphasizing on the deeper aspects of learning, the difference between being literate and educated. He laid stress on the fact that education should reflect compassion, values and love among fellow beings. Dr Suresh, Assistant Nodal officer of ORC Kerala reflected on the backdrop of the work and how in 2010 ORC work was initiated at a small level and over a period of time it has been adopted as the state program. Dr Indu P.S. reflected on the emotional problems of youth of today. She stated that the youths of India lose the precious lives because of accidents and suicides. This can be easily prevented if interventions are done at the right time.
Sri A. Anbarasu. I.A.S, Secretary, Education, Government of Puducherry, inaugurated the program by quoting Pavendhar Bharathidasan poem in which he says that “these days people are more concerned about their own house, own food, own family and own children we should not become small in our thinking. In fact, we should broaden our scope and horizon to accommodate everyone.” He further elaborated on how human values and system have become very fragile and programs like ORC bring back the confidence and self-respect among youths. It takes a whole village to bring up a child. Therefore, the role and responsibility of a child should not be limited to only parents and in fact teachers and society at large are equally responsible for a child’s development.
Ms. Shalini Aravindan, Programme Manager, Svarnim Puducherry, Sri Aurobindo Society, facilitated the inaugural program, dignitaries and the audience. Shri. T.P.Raghunath, Director, Svarnim Puducherry, proposed the vote of thanks to the dignitaries and to the audience. Dr. P.R. Vinothkumar, Project Coordinator, Sri Aurobindo Society, helped in the overall coordination.
HIGHLIGHTS OF ORC PROGRAM CONDUCTED FROM AUG 5 TO AUG 7, 2019
Mr. Saif Mohammed, State Coordinator, ORC, Kerala started the session in an energetic manner. He enlightened on the aims and objectives of the ORC programme, explained in detail about the cause of this program and shared his experience about the functioning of ORC in Kerala. The technical session was handled by Dr. Indu and Dr. Anilkumar, Trivandrum Medical College, state trainers ORC Kerala, who started the session by explaining the phase of child development and how to counter their needs. He further addressed on the common bio-psycho social issues faced by children and how to identify these issues through “I Know My Student Card”. This card has been developed by Psychological and Psychiatric experts.
This card helps to study the severity of a child’s problem. It has 16 questions and each question is graded on a scale of 0 to 3. Based on the grades, the children are categorised into mild, moderate and severe cases where interventions are required. The session reinforced that maximum number of children will showcase mild problems and how timely intervention at the classroom level through teachers and school management will alter the situation into positive outlook.
There was a session on Psychological first aid and how solutions could be devised through focused approach. It was reiterated that the child is not the only cause of his problem. The community, inter-personal relationship with friends and family are also responsible for a child’s behavioural change. All these factors should be considered while planning any intervention to bring in the desired results in the child.
The session ended by orienting the Master trainers to use “I Know My Student Card” and how this knowledge transfer could take place to the respective class teachers by training the teachers on using the card and identifying children for future interventions.
