Calcutta Rescue students and staff had the opportunity to participate in a five-day workshop aimed at turning young women in the slums they live in into change agents to spread awareness about health and other important issues, as part of a partnership with Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives.
Two of our students and two women from our health and outreach projects were selected to take part in the peer leadership workshop, accompanied by two other employees.
The activity-based course focused on learning life skills such as communication, human rights, problem solving, decision making and much more.
Varsha, a student of our Education Center No. 10, said, "I learned a lot about growth mindset, decision making, problem solving and communication skills. These were areas where I used to feel very insecure. There were so many activities. We designed posters, wrote and performed a play together. Samapika, the other CR student, said: "I already feel empowered. If I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have known about my basic rights."
Puja, our health worker in the Nimtala slum, was very happy to learn creative thinking and empathy. She said: "These skills will help me to communicate with the patients in our slum area." Sana is one of the teenage residents in the Mechua slum area who attends all of the outreach team's education sessions. "She has shown that she is very good at learning, expressing herself and leading the community. That's why we chose her for this peer leader workshop," said Saurabh, head of the outreach team in Mechua.
Sana said, "I am very grateful to Calcutta Rescue for giving me such a great opportunity where I can learn so many things. I am very excited to discuss these things with my family and friends."