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LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
The fact that children were totally unaware of the outside world was a major
learning experience for us. It forced us to re-evaluate our strategy and
our goals regarding their development. The children exhibited an attitude
of complete disinterest and helplessness. We realized that before we could
guide them towards self-reliance, we would have to help them develop confidence
in themselves and in their abilities. Also it would be our responsibility
to make them aware of the larger picture.
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important lesson was that children cannot be forced to move at the
pace we feel right. These children are already under pressure from
schoolwork, household work etc. Thus, it is important to be flexible
in terms of timings, goals, achievements etc. Hence meetings were
held at a time most suitable for children with different days for
different program areas and for boys and girls. Transparency is extremely
important in dealings with children. It is imperative that even their
difficult questions be answered honestly. Only then can you hope for
their trust and dedication. |
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It is crucial to gain the confidence of parents and sensitize them towards
child issues. Also parents need to be told about the role Bal Panchayat
is going to play in their child's life. It is equally important to allay
parents insecurities since many parents feel threatened by children demanding
their rights.
It is important to have effective communication between the community and
organization to ensure establishment of realistic goals.
It is also important to keep Bal Panchayat a non-incentive based program
even when one feels pressurized to offer incentives to increase attendance
or such. The end result of Bal Panchayat is an intangible in the sense that
the development of children's personality and confidence cannot be measured.
Also the desire to improve has to come from the children themselves and
offering an incentive would make it difficult to clarify children's motivations.
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