Penned By Social Worker & Facilitator Ms. Auroposée Bardhan
It has been a year now since Sharana has been working closely with the French Consulate and the Lycée Français International de Pondichéry on two programmes for the French children of the Union Territory:
- The Social Support Programme
- The Holiday Camp Programme
The Social Support Programme has been put into place to provide a safe and quiet space for children to engage in various activities such as playing games, experimenting with musical instruments, and discovering themselves through expressive arts sessions, or simply to do their homework. When required, psychosocial support is available for those with learning or behavioural challenges by personnel who are dedicated to the holistic development of children. A happy, safe milieu is assured in the presence of positive role models to inspire the children to make active efforts towards overcoming difficulties and learning new skills. Moreover, great care is taken to provide an immersive French environment, which may be sometimes lacking on the homefront.
The Holiday Camp Programme is regarded as a complementary project to the Social Support where similar activities are animated for the children during their school holidays. It is a fun and educative programme to keep the children creatively and happily occupied while also being a means for total French immersion when not at school.
In the past year, we have held four camps since October 2023, namely during the Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer breaks. We have just completed a very successful Summer Holiday Camp earlier this month from 2 to 12 July and will be conducting yet another one in the last week of August.
This last camp was based on the theme of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. All the activities revolved around this topic, which made it different, interesting, and most enjoyable. In all, 16 children from the Lycée Français participated in the camp. The team conducting the camp consisted of the project lead, one intern, two volunteers, as well as resource persons for yoga and music – all of whom speak French – and our in-house expressive arts instructor. Besides these, other project managers and kitchen/ground staff of Sharana contributed significantly to the smooth running of the programme.
The crafts, games, music, and expressive arts sessions were all planned adhering to the Olympic theme. The children were divided into three teams and points were given to each team for each activity, thus resulting in a winner, a first runner-up, and a second runner-up who would eventually be awarded a gold, silver, and bronze medal, respectively.
In the crafts activities, the children made Olympic torches by cutting and pasting crepe paper; Olympic rings by cutting and painting chart paper; Olympic medals by moulding and painting clay dough. They also drew and painted the mascot of the Paris Olympics following a tutorial video and spray-painted their own T-shirts using stencils of Olympic-related logos. The sparkle in their eyes when they completed their self-painted T-shirts was our reward for introducing this novel craft in the camp.
The Expressive Arts sessions covered different themes based on the values and principles of the Games, which instilled in the children the feelings of friendship, sharing, appreciation, generosity, respect, and sportsman spirit. It was heartening to see how some children were deeply touched through these expressions. One of them was moved to tears on hearing words of appreciation from schoolmates who had perhaps not engaged much with the child while at school. A few said the act of sharing, which indicated generosity, gave them immense joy. Others were filled with gratitude for these kind exchanges amongst each other.
The yoga sessions were developed towards a collective presentation of asanas, which would be performed on the last day. This helped the children to execute the figures harmoniously and with synchronicity.
Each team learnt a piece of rhythmic gymnastics using different props, such as hoops, balls, and batons with ribbons. While each of these enabled the children to learn a certain set of skills, it also drew their attention to rhythm while performing coordinated movements.
The children also picked up steps of a traditional folk dance of France, the Cancan. This fast-paced dance with hops and kicks required them to move quickly but with perfect coordination. It was a fun activity that they thoroughly enjoyed.
Each team first studied rhyme and rhythmic patterns with our music instructor and then composed and sang original songs describing different sports. All the children also learnt the Olympic anthem for this year’s Games in Paris.
A video on past Olympic events was shown everyday, followed by a quiz. The videos portrayed grit, perseverance, sportsmanship, camaraderie, and excellence – values and qualities that can inspire one and all and that are important to imbibe.
There were also games such as a wordsearch where they had to identify various sports in a letter grid and other physical games.
The snacks and meals provided by Sharana during the camp are regular highlights as the children enjoy the refreshing seasonal fruits/fruit juices at their mid-morning break and look forward to their crunchy snack of either roasted groundnuts, boiled and seasoned chickpeas, or tasty lentil vadas in the afternoon before going home. They love the wholesome, nutritious meal at lunchtime comprising some variety of rice, daal, veggies, an egg preparation, and raita and salad. There are of course some popular favourites like cauliflower pakodas, paneer butter masala, and papad, which are always consumed faster than the other items. Many learn to eat dishes that they weren’t too fond of previously and also to finish all that is on their plate without wasting any food – something we insist upon and monitor closely.
These recreations are also a time when the children naturally form smaller groups and mingle freely and play. While we allow them this relaxation, we have to be vigilant to ensure the enthusiasm and excitement doesn’t translate into rough exchanges during play. It is interesting though to watch how some children gradually change their attitude or grow out of their shell during these spontaneous interactions. It provides a platform for a beautiful burgeoning of camaraderie and bonding.
On the last day of camp, the children measured, mixed, baked, and decorated from scratch more than a hundred cupcakes. All their artwork was exhibited and a presentation was arranged for all parents and other special invitees, including Ms. Vandana Shah, Sharana’s Operations Director. It was a grand performance showcasing all that they had done and learnt over the past two weeks, all in the format and spirit of the Olympic Games. There was a medal presentation at the end and distribution of cupcakes to all present.
The parents who attended were thrilled to see how much their children had learnt and achieved in just two weeks. One of the mothers commented that while adults find it difficult to learn a song by heart, she was pleasantly surprised to see that all the children had learnt the lyrics of three songs and had sung them so well with only a few rehearsals. Some others recalled their own schooldays and said they felt they were reliving their childhood through their children’s activities. This resonated with the team who, in our schooldays, had also experienced the excitement of being involved in such projects in the countdown to many Olympic Games.
It was wonderful to have our board member Ms. Alo Sud amongst us for the presentation on the final day. She enjoyed the programme and appreciated the children’s effort and the team’s patience and perseverance that had gone into the creation of such a lively and joyous display of skill and imagination, and the overall conceptualisation of the camp’s theme.
We were honoured to have the French Consulate team visit us on the last but one day. Madame Gisèle Petrus-Ramesh (Social Affairs Secretary) and Monsieur Florent Even (Social Affairs Officer) came to Sharana to watch the camp in action. They saw all the artwork done by the children as we explained the theme of the camp and the expressive arts sessions that were conducted. We even surprised them with the presentation the children had prepared. They also watched a slideshow of photographs taken during the various activities of the camp demonstrating the stages of the work put in which culminated in the final presentation. They greatly appreciated the children’s work and performance and were quite impressed with all that was achieved within the short span of two weeks. Their visit during the camp was a testimony of their support and belief in Sharana and it encouraged us in our endeavour to create a meaningful recreation for the French children of Pondicherry. The discussion and exchange that followed reinforced our joint aim in providing a better and brighter future for the budding young generation.
The Marche aux Flambeaux was organised on the 13th of July, the eve of Bastille Day. As this took place on the very next day after the culmination of our camp, there was good participation by many of the children who had attended the camp. A team from Sharana along with the children and their parents paraded down the promenade with flags and lamps on the seafront on Saturday evening dancing and singing in a festive atmosphere of joy and jubilation. It was a wonderful experience of living the vibrant motto of “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”.
In continuation with the previous camp, the upcoming Holiday Camp at the end of August will have as theme the Paralympics, which will be ongoing at that point of time. Planning and preparations have already begun to make this yet another fruitful event.
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I joined the large and dedicated Sharana family in December 2023 as Social Worker and Facilitator leading these two projects. I have been volunteering as a teacher to similar age groups in the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE) for the past 14 years, and the tasks and responsibilities of the two French Consulate projects seemed a synchronous extension of my gathered and ever-increasing experience. I love working with and around children and have always been passionate about teaching them while simultaneously learning from them. There is an unparallelled exchange of energy in these interactions that rejuvenate the mind and body and nourish the soul. I consider it therefore a process of meaningful sharing rather than a one-way transaction of imparting knowledge. My continued endeavour is therefore to support and guide the children on their path to self-discovery.
