Date: 11th,12th and 17th May 2021
Participants 100+ Students and 35 Young Mothers
Mode: Online
The pandemic has brought in a lot of stress in the minds of all the people in the world and more specifically, students are suffering a lot because of this lockdown. Their schools and colleges are closed and they are made to sit indoors, which is highly affecting the morale of the students. To overcome this issue, SARVAM, in association with Shanti Ashram is conducting a series of online programs for the students and this is helping the students spend their time productively.
1. Let’s Dance together…!
On 11th May 2021, a virtual programme on dance was conducted for the students. The programme aimed to teach simple dance steps to students. These small and easy movements brought in smiles in the faces of the children and this lifted their enthusiasm to the next level. Mr. Prasanth Vellingiri, a professional dancer and choreographer conducted the session and in between he spoke to the students the significance of dance. This was an informative and entertaining session for the students. More than 100 students from SARVAM, Sri Aurobindo Society participated in this workshop and learnt simple dance steps.
The first session started with the theoretical session in which Mr. Prasanth spoke on the various types of dances and he also spoke on the differences between each of them. He said that dance is a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement. This movement has aesthetic and symbolic value, and is acknowledged as dance by performers and observers within a particular culture. Various types of dance practiced by people in various countries and people who follow different cultural values were explained by the trainer. This helped students to enhance their knowledge about dance and its history.
In the second session, he conducted practical session by teaching simple dance steps to all the students in a virtual manner. All the students were asked to practice them and he also played few videos on how to dance properly. Each step was explained clearly for all the students and they all followed the instructions given by Mr. Prasanth.
Along with this, an awareness session on COVID-19 was also conducted for the students and this helped them to clearly understand about the spread of the virus and the ways and means to curtail the spread. Students were asked to decipher this knowledge to their friends and family members.
2. Nutrition Literacy to Mothers and Children
It has been noticed that almost all the young mothers and children in the villages are not conscious of their health. This leads to many problems and diseases and they are unable to overcome this problem due to lack of awareness. Keeping this aspect in mind, Shanthi Ashram organized an online programme on Nutrition Literacy for young mothers and children on 13th May 2021.
The main objective of this programme is to create literacy on the importance of nutrition in maintaining good health.
In the first session, Ms. Angelin Jenifer spoke on the goals on this programme and set the tone for the rest of the events.
Ms. Ranisha, Nutrition Counsellor spoke on the food platter that each of the young mothers and children must eat every day. Without having proper knowledge on what to eat, most of the people eat useless foods which results in lots of health hazards. This session helped the participants to understand and follow a healthy diet plan dialy.
Ms. Punitha Deivanayagam, Volunteer of Shanthi Ashram spoke on foods that must be consumed to boost the immunity. In the present day context, where the Corona virus is rapidly spreading, immunity is the main factor that can prevent this disease. This session focused on various immunity-enhancing foods that must be a part of one’s daily diet. The trainer insisted on the importance of herbal medicines which can be easily found everywhere and also at our doorsteps. In today’s technology-driven world, these herbs have lost their importance even amidst the villagers. These herbs when properly consumes, will enrich one’s immunity and hence it was reiterated that more herbs to be added to the daily diet so as to improve one’s immunity.
The session came to an end by an awareness session on how to avoid COVID-19. This session was conducted by Dr. Kezeviono Aram, President of Shanthi Ashram. He spoke on various things that must be followed to break the chain of this virus. He also insisted that everyone follow the rules and regulations laid down by the government and support the government in all the ways that one can.
This online session was much useful for the young mothers who attended because they learnt useful aspects related to their health and the types of food that will keep them and their families healthier.
3. Art in your Life
A virtual programme on the importance of Art was organized by Shathi Ashram and was conducted for adolescent students on 17th May 2021. As we all know Art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making. Art is a blessing and it is created in various formats. This session helped students to create art with the help of materials that are available in their houses and also things that are available easily.
Around 110 students from SARVAM participated in this online workshop. Students were asked to bring materials such as Plastic bags, masala cover, atta, semiya covers, any empty packets from kitchen (covers), Stapler, cello tape, Thread, Sticks from broom and Scissors. These were used to prepare craft items.
The session was conducted by Ms. Saswatha Surthi, an architecture student in Anna University. She spoke on acrylic paintings, crafts, cubic painting, modern art and other forms of expressive pages to create the art and artistic elements. This helped students to learn various forms of Arts and they were also shown pictures and videos on various Art forms.
Step by step instruction was given by the trainer and all the students followed them to create crafts using the materials which they already had. This session helped all the students to learn about art and also it helped them to enhance their creativity.
A question and answer session was also organized towards the end of the session in which students were asked to raise their doubts related to the Art and Crafts. Many students asked their questions and it was clarified by the trainer. The session was much useful for the children as it not only kept them active for that day alone, but also for the coming days while they stay indoors because of the lockdown.
