It’s been more than a decade of working very closely with children, but the lessons learnt more recently have strengthened my interest and purpose and have brought more meaning to life.
My tryst with teaching, guiding, mentoring children began with the colony kids in 2009. At least that is what I thought I was doing during the first instances of my engagement with them. Then this engagement progressed to involvement with their friends and eventually extended to school and college students. The key in these sessions was the composition of children from varied origins, backgrounds, different geographical locations and privileges. The outcomes were always positive. And mixed group compositions resulted in the best learning for everyone, including us as mentors. These outcomes have been extensively documented on blogs and published articles as the Travelling Dome outdoor learning sessions over the years. While city kids were well read, their knowledge largely limited to books, gadgets and virtual games, village kids were far more adept in their knowledge of everyday life, environment and ecology. This came from real life experiences. So when city kids stood paralysed at the edge of the backwaters as we explored the trees, birds and creek, the rural kids rushed to dive in the shallow waters knowing well how the waters would behave! While the city kids rattled off the myriad names of endemic animals in South America, the rural kids were already up on the high branches plucking fruit with dexterity!
The lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic brought in new challenges with limitations to the outdoor learning modules we had been experimenting with. But challenges and limitations are also harbingers of new opportunities and so we began with the backyard class at the beginning of the lockdown more than a year ago. The sessions were basically meant for neighbourhood kids and could work and be replicated in every hamlet, ward, city or town. Our friends and the Travelling Dome family were our biggest supporters and the other programmes we conducted in the community helped reach out to the less privileged. During this time we also had the realization of our larger purpose – that of wanting to continually engage children in mixed groups together. We were certain that we wanted to have children who had more, to be with children who had less. And ironically, every community, neighbourhood, colony and hamlet has this composition- of the haves and the have nots.
With the second wave of the pandemic last month, we had the opportunity to work with children in mixed groups for longer lengths of time because many parents began asking for fostering their children with the second wave looming its ugly head within homes that were earlier unaffected. A few family members succumbed to the virus, then some friends and fellow activists too. It was shocking, mind numbing, heartbreaking and devastating. Amidst this how could one keep children protected? How to keep them engaged as well as empowered with skills to make them independent, empathetic as well as prepared for an uncertain tomorrow?
We had many distress calls. One child’s mother was critical, another’s father was home quarantined, another’s grandparents were to be taken for testing, a teen needed support with exams, another needed a home away from home for recuperation, there was a dog too that needed to be fostered as the entire family was Covid positive and could not step out for any dog duties. Some kids needed to be kept safe and occupied as parents were out at work the full day and could not leave their children alone at home.
Initially, yes it was a riot. Intolerances, arrogance and egos took precedence. These of course came with repeated patterns back home or amidst peers. Old baggage had to be emptied. We worked with each, we worked with all, together as a team. Tasks were assigned to each, then to each group as per their ages and then to the entire team.
The lessons were phenomenal. The conversations with each were very special. The bonds, unbreakable.
The lessons all came from the backyard. One particular backyard had a pristine lake. We were fascinated by its beauty. But the path to it was uncharted. We cycled, walked, drove to its many edges. Every point we had managed to reach that was closest to the lake was thick with the most treacherous of thorny climbers and creepers. We sparked an idea to make our own path through this hell hole. The children planned each attempt. On the first one, we let our dog lead the way. So we had to crawl, flatten ourselves on the bare ground and pass through. It took us nearly a lifetime to get to the lake the first time. On the second attempt, the kids tried another path suggested by us. It was far worse. It had rocks and spiky vegetation everywhere, even our dog could not navigate. So we retreated and decided to try another path. We had to crawl, got poked by thorns and even lost our way on our return back from the lake. After many such attempts, we finally chartered our own path. On the same deadly route but this time armed with tools to keep the thorny bushes in check and place markers. One child made sure that the marking would be noticeable as we walked back up the slope from the lake. We gorged on the local berries-kantam along the way. We finally made it. And this same path has been our own special path since. We still get bruised by a stray thorn or two, but compared to the initial obstacles, it is now a breeze. Just like tribulations in life. Like the current pandemic. But we shall overcome!
(Tallulah D’Silva is an
architect.)
