Youth empowerment classes for selected groups of students at Kalleda and Matendla schools have become a regular feature of the extra-curricular education. The program is provided by a non-profit organisation, Bridges to Understanding, based in the US which sends interns to RDF to teach youth empowerment classes.
Students work with overseas volunteers to create a digital story combining photography and narrative about key social problems of their choice. It is an opportunity for students to acquire technical skills, improve their English language as well as to develop critical thinking and analysis of their own culture and society.
Recent successes include digital stories produced by Kalleda students about the way of life of the Lambadi people, an ancient Indian tribe, many of whom have settled in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Matendla students chose to focus on an innovative literacy project in their village, backed by UNICEF which is teaching local women to read and write.
In Matendla Rural School, UNICEF BCC program was adopted as a part of Social Awareness Program (SAP) and commenced its activities in 2008. Five students were selected to be trained as journalist reporting developments in nearby villages. They were trained by UNICEF in Chinnakodur Mandal in identifying, understanding and reporting lifestyle of the villages. After the completion of the training, these children would gather reports on various developments in the village and write it on a poster and stick it on the village Community Hall wall. This way various challenges viz. lack of continuous supply of clean water, frequent cuts in electricity, issues related to sanitation and importance of hygienic environment and other social evils, faced by the villages, achievements and philanthropic activities would be brought to the notice of all villagers.
This program also encouraged students to bring their creativity in writing to the fore. This program was called ‘Chinnari Maanasa”. Students would narrate few jokes / funny incidents, write short stories and develop skills in poetry and display these on the Village Community Wall.
The impact of this program had a small but far reaching effect in the lives of the villagers. Looking into the sincerity and enthusiasm of the village level participation of students and the community at large, local community leaders approached the state government and the government sanctioned laying of metal roads and erecting street lights.
Alumni ambassadors have taken on an involved role in the YEMP as well. They aid the volunteers in providing in-depth insight into these local topics of concern. Often, they help with overcoming language barriers and allow the students to engage more deeply in the subject in Telugu.
RDF is keen to introduce this program at its other schools if sufficient volunteers are available. Click here to express your interest in volunteering for the Youth Empowerment program.
Recently completed YEMP projects:
December 2010
Johanna Bjork and Gudrun Hulda, Bridges to Understanding volunteers hailing all the way from Iceland , were the first to implement the Youth Empowerment class in RDF Matendla School. They split into two groups, “The Stars” and “Sunlight” to investigate the importance of literacy and sustainability in their communities. Their findings were extraordinary. See for yourself.
The Stars video on Literacy:
Sunlight group’s video on Sustainability:
November 2010
Sophie Geist, a Seattle volunteer from Bridges to Understanding worked with her Youth Empowerment class in RDF Kalleda School to learn about the local Lambadi tribal culture. The students investigated the phenomenon of disappearing cultures and how to preserve them.
September 2010
Elizabeth Sewell’s second Youth Empowerment class at Kalleda School created a digital story on dowry.
Dowry is a very complex topic that was chosen by the students because of it’s immediate relevance to their lives as a challenge faced by youth in the local community. They shared the movie with other students at Kalleda School to start a school-wide conversation and encourage critical thinking about the topic.
In order to reach a wider audience, two versions of the digital story were created, one in Telugu and one in English. Please choose one below and enjoy!
English
Telugu
April 2010
Volunteers Elizabeth Sewell and Elizabeth Herb led a Youth Empowerment class at Kalleda School from February to April 2010. Using a curriculum provided by Bridges To Understanding, the class used photography and storytelling as a medium to investigate community problems. “Political Pollution” is the story produced by Elizabeth Sewell’s group, The Tigers!
