About thirty children in the age group of 6 to 14 at Bal Sahyog, were sensitized to being compassionate to animals and caring for the environment during the end of May and beginning of June 2022.
STRAW India conducted a 4-Day Humane Education Workshop for the children of Bal Sahyog, an NGO that was founded by the late Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1954 and provides shelter, educational and recreational facilities to orphaned, homeless, runaways, abandoned, surrendered, drug-addicted, street children, and those rescued from child labor.
The first workshop was conducted on 25th May, where students in the age group of 6 to 14 years heard a story of Animal Kindness, followed by playing a Quiz. This was followed by children creating animal masks and performing short skits on problems faced by animals and how they could be resolved. Their stories revolve around an animal in distress plus a doctor who could speak to animals - Dr. Chinchpokli.
The second workshop was conducted on 27th May where students in the age group of 15 to 18 years were shown a short film called 'Turtle Boy' where they noticed how a little boy was able to resolve a problem faced by the turtle, by merely using his intelligence and compassion. The students then identified animal problems and drew 'solutions of the future for them' and discussed how these models could help animals.
On the third day, 1st June 2022, STRAW conducted storytelling and a quiz; but the highlight of the day was making the birdfeeders! Children really enjoyed this and some even said that they had more fun here than at their tuition classes!
Led by the STRAW Team, they went for a walk in the garden to identify spaces where children could hang their birdfeeders! They were reluctant to have their own lunch and worried what would happen if somebody broke their birdfeeders! We came up with a plan on regular monitoring and the children shared some amazing ideas as they went about identifying spaces where birds regularly visited and were in the shade and away from the cricket bats and balls. Some even suggested that they will hang the bird feeder in the morning time when the birds visit and bring them down in the afternoon when children play!
On the 4th and concluding day, on the 3rd June, the children did story weaving and discussed the problems faced by cats and dogs, especially during the summer season. The highlight of the session was building homes for the cats, dogs, squirrels, and birds to shield them from the sun and rain. So engrossed were they that the children forgot all about their lunch and we had to literally shoo them away to eat! Absolute fun, education, and compassion all rolled into one.