My experience of using participatory communication at Samvedana
In our recent visit to a municipal school where Samvedana operates along with it we interacted with children of age not more than 15 years. Our objective was to find out the reason behind the huge cultural difference between them and the children who go to other schools in other localities. In order to find out where the difference was arising we used the method of participatory communication so that the level of interaction could go to a personal level.
Unlike my imagination, the children were supportive and very cooperative. They did respect us as elders yet felt comfortable when they were told that we were students as well. They changed the way we imagine a municipal school student. Just because they study in a municipal school does not mean they are not smart or intelligent. The only difference between them and the children in other schools is the amount of academic facilities they are availed of. I believe that if these children were provided better facilities then they have all the potential required to lead a life we understand as normal.
Although I personally did not come across any case where the behaviors of the parents or other family members were such that would adversely affect the culture of the children but other members in my group did. On the other hand, I came across a few little girls who never had to work at the household. They enjoyed once they were in the house. They watched television and enjoyed playing games like chess and cards. They had never witnessed any case of violence or any other incident for that matter in their house.
From the information that we gathered individually and collectively there are a few understandings that we have come to.
The difference between these children was the level of income their parents had. It can be understood that with better level of income there are fewer cases of household stress. And a stress-free environment helps a child to...