Aaand it’s a wrap for now!

We shared updates from our first session at Simrarh earlier. 

Learning through bird-nature walks -School of Nature- Simrarh chapter!

We return with an update on the same.

For the second session, we had Jaya Di, our close friend and the founder of Happy Children’s Library, visit. She did an adorable reading session with the tiny tots to keep them interested in reading and books.

Our hopes were high for the second session. We arrived with a great deal of preparation, but none of the boys turned up.We were hoping that a few of their sisters would also come. Even though it was a bit embarrassing and sad that Jaya traveled a good distance for it and none of the students turned up, the tiny tots kept up our spirits and enthusiasm. We ended the day with a mental note that there was probably some miscommunication or the students might arrive for the upcoming sessions.

Firstly, we were investing our time, energy, and money in it, and the economics didn’t seem to work with such a minimal (3 out of 15 ) number of students. Meanwhile, we also didn’t feel it right to discontinue for those three children who were enthusiastically turning up. So we decided to take up one chance of executing it in the upcoming week before taking the final call.

The next week followed with some fun Nature Bingo games and a film screening for the same four students who had made it. So, it was a wrap!

Our questions and wonders about the deviated path of the workshop got me penning these points.

We noticed that the schools in this region are quite far from the villages. It takes more than an hour for the students to reach on foot. So, school dropouts are significantly high, especially among girls. The older children are reserved and have limited exposure to their prospects. So, through the School of Nature, we wanted to open multiple realms of learning. Since the region is indeed abundant in terms of natural and alternative learning sources we wanted to use the treasure troves for good.

We began our efforts by creating application forms and visiting clusters of houses in the center’s vicinity. The identified center was a lease arrangement of an abandoned house in decent condition. We explained the details and importance of the workshop to each of their parents and even to the students on their first day.

What we suspect the reasons for the negative response could have been:

• In our first session, we were less persuasive about the advantages, relevance, and fun part of the workshop. Or the participants failed to understand the contextual relevance of such activities or programs.
• Considering their ways of life, we figured that the community reciprocated poorly for commitments and accountabilities.
• Most participants came from the same part of the village and schools, and the peer pressure might have taken over the interested students.
• Overall, the communities around the place are superstitious and skeptical about new events and happenings.
• The young people may have felt intimidated because of a few incomprehensible factors.
• We were supposed to offer something to hold their interest and attention on the first day, perhaps (which was something we had done with another group that turned out successful.)
• The center offered a basic and raw appeal. We are not sure how much of it pleased the students.

We may have to approach the communities and activities differently the next time. We look forward to breaking the code and re-entering Simrar this time, for good!