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“Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of the United States
This is what we aspire to do at Catalysts for Social Action (CSA) and strive for at our annual training. We lived up to our theme, Together We Learn, by spending 10 days revising and learning new practices, laws, and about our programmes at Yuva Center in Kharghar, Raigad. Nearly 90 of us from all five locations—Maharashtra, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh—came together to engage in interactive activities, games, and team-building exercises.
The first day kicked off with a reminder of CSA’s vision and mission, followed by a detailed review of our various interventions and practices across all our 104 child care institutions (CCIs). We updated ourselves with all programmes namely – Health & Necessities, Learning & Wellness, Livelihood & Aftercare and Advocacy, Training, and Training & Advisory, which are aligned with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. These initiatives are important for vulnerable children and are designed to help in the capacity building of the institutions.
Education is the cornerstone of human development and progress. Keeping this in mind, we had a representative from the ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) Centre interact with our programme officers on the second day. The idea was to assist them in better understanding the different teaching methods for different children depending on their age and ability.
The third day was a fun-filled workshop on storytelling that illustrated how different skills are integrated into a storytelling lesson that can lead to academic as well as emotional outcomes.
This year, CSA aims to become more data-driven and integrate a commitment to data into its daily work. This was the motto of the fourth day by Goalkeep, a consulting firm that enables organisations to make sense of data. Goalkeep organised a one-day workshop to assess our current data culture and show how a data-driven approach can drive meaningful impact. The team was also shown a documentary on how artificial intelligence can be used for social good.
The following two days were dedicated to our Aftercare and Livelihood Programme, where we discussed various initiatives undertaken for our care leavers (youth who have aged out of institutional care). We celebrated the success of over 2000 Care Leavers in our programme and emphasised the importance of providing training in career preparation, financial literacy, and emotional wellness.
The next day was divided into two halves. In the first half, the team learned about the Eisenhower Matrix, a task management tool that can be used to organise and prioritise tasks according to urgency and importance. The second half focused on the importance of effective communication within and outside the organisation.
In the last two days, the team revised several provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. We also participated in giving suggestions on the Maharashtra government’s draft child policy. All participants were confronted with different situations that we sometimes encounter on the field to help gauge their understanding of different laws and regulations.
The team was shown a Bollywood movie, Bhakshak, about how a journalist uncovers young girls being sexually assaulted and abused in a CCI. The film highlighted the importance of a social audit that needs to be conducted at the CCI level to ensure the safety of children. We discussed our responsibilities if we notice any anomalies and our role in strengthening the system. We concluded the training with a self-reflection on what we had learned and what we wanted to do in the future.
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