different sets of children singing to each other

A special day in Saibaba Path School today. We had a special initiative today at school with some of Meenal’s friends ….a trustee of EDUCO….bringing their own children into school to mingle with the children of Saibaba Path Municipal School managed by EDUCO. It is fair to say Meenals friends come from a middle class background and go to a middle class fee paying school.

Here are the Supermums who are driving this project

The children from the Saibaba Path school on the other hand come from the local slums and both groups of children lead a totally different existence and lifestyle. So this was an initial effort to integrate the two groups together which if successful will be the first Saturday every month. The children’s ages were around 5 years. The main purpose of the day was to engage the private school children with the municipal school children so that they can befriend them , appreciate how the other half lives and in the process develop a positive attitude to privilege and develop empathy. So a risky experiment you might think. The day started with song singing from both sets of children. This was a little longer than expected as this is India and there is always a challenge. This time the mother who had prepared the material and was carrying it for the puppet making session’s car broke down so the singing went on a little longer than anticipated.

Children in the process of bonding

The children at first as you would expect were a little apprehensive and clustered into their own groups. But once the puppet making session started they were all having fun and it didn’t matter where you lived or your background. It was great to see as this wouldn’t have been able to happen without, EDUCO,s efforts or Meenal,s drive to educate the poor children to a level they could hold their own with the middle classes. So a very successful morning was had by all. We will be asking both sets of children again next week how they enjoyed it.

Puppet making activities begin

 It was even decided to increase the event to twice a month to ensure the children really get to know each other as once a month is a bit long for their little memories. So well done to the Inakshi the lead mother and the other mums and dads who had the original idea, worked hard in the background in preparation and on the day, well done to the children, and finally well done to EDUCO. This is just the beginning of a journey, however a perfect start.

This little girl says more than I can about the success of the day

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