Kudos to you and the Team Snehadhara for the enriching workshop “Ullam” held at Sankalp- The Learning Centre and Special Needs School, Kollapencheri.  Ullam was an unforgettable experience for us who deal with children with Special Needs be it as a facilitator or a parent. The workshop made us realize that we need to nurture ourselves first if we want to effectively work with Children with Special Needs. The day- long activities be it vocal, drums, art and movement helped us shed our inhibitions and participate enthusiastically without fear of judgment. It helped us bond as a group as no one was an expert at singing or dancing or playing the drums or even colouring. The workshop made us look into our own styles of teaching and we realized that it is important for us to keep in mind what the child wants to do and then channelize it into a flexible framework to make the teaching -learning process more effective.

The energy generated was electrifying and not a single participant looked at the watch or felt bored at any point of time. It was therapeutic and all the participants went back with a host of happy memories and
totally rejuvenated.

On behalf of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), we express our sincere gratitude for your exceptional facilitation during the GEDSI Workshop from 16th to 18th September 2024.

Your expertise in GEDSI and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) significantly deepened our participants’ understanding of these principles, while the participatory approach fostered a collaborative spirit. This allowed our team to work closely in co-developing a practical and robust framework for implementing GEDSI across disaster resilient infrastructure within the secretariat and member countries.

The workshop was attended by our programs and operations teams, with representation from leadership as well, ensuring cross-sector engagement. Your ability to create an open, inclusive dialogue was highly appreciated and made the sessions truly impactful.

Thank you for conducting training sessions for our facilitators to implement usage of creative interventions in our classrooms as a part of the 7i programme at HLC. Our facilitators stepped out of their comfort zones by exploring a variety of art forms through the training sessions. The freedom of expression and non-judgmental atmosphere also helped them grow as individuals, reduced their inhibitions and encouraged them to be open to new experiences. This learning has also translated into what they do in and outside their classrooms as well. Through the modules they experienced, the facilitators have learnt a lot about each other, and this has helped strengthen their relationships with all other teachers and students as well. Facilitators who went through this training have also now conducted sessions for building strong relationship across stakeholders such as Parents and support staff.

I think it is a great idea if the first session worked as a baseline to get everyone on the same page and then future sessions can build off that.” “I thought the interactive nature of the session was great. I thought at one point we might then break out into groups and go deeper in conversation, due to the openness the activities caused. In the end it was also good to leave it right where we did.  I enjoyed it and found it helpful.

It has been heartening to hear teachers say things like “I don’t feel guilty thinking about my self-care now” or “I think only if I can take care of myself I can care for my family”. Thank you to you and your team of facilitators for having implemented these trainings. This was important for our teachers. It is this shift in mindset that will truly shift the needle on wellbeing. I would like to express my gratitude to your team for having designed and implemented a program like this for two years with our teachers. Our teachers have had nothing but praise for your facilitators and how comfortable they make them feel and for that I am thankful. More power to your team and hope we get to work with you soon again.

Though the interactions between Snehadhara professionals and special educators at AMC are limited so far, the sessions have enthused our teachers about the arts-based therapies that could be adopted in the classroom environment. The response of the children is also equally encouraging as they have been enjoying various interventions through music and movement. As Snehadhara assures us of a holistic care through ABT and having effectively implemented across the nation, we at AMC too hope to achieve the best of the results and a positive impact on our children.