State Consultation 2005

From December 22-24, 2005 Shaishav held a Consulation at Agarwal Samaj Hall in Bhavnagar where we invited 10 organisations working in the field of child rights in different parts of Gujarat. Each organisation came with two adult team members and four children. The aim of the event was to teach children about their rights, specifically their right to participation and how they can use this right to address the issues they face at home, school, work or in their communities. 

The first day started with introductions from the visiting children and adults, some warm-up games and songs, and then lunch. The objective of the Consulation was introduced and the children were explained their roles and responsibilities in the events: If they were unhappy with anything, they had a right to speak up and voice their concerns.  The children then volunteered to take over the responsibilities of cleaning, filling water, serving food, creating a bulletin board with the day’s activities and preparing a report to review the previous day’s events. Children and adults broke into separate groups to play a Child Rights Game, in which they discussed the basic needs of children and made a list of the eight most important. Despite being given the option of listing treats and toys, the children focused on needs of clean air and water, adequate food, and proper education.  Shaishav then gave a presentation on the four basic child rights of survival, development, protection, and participation to the children and adults together and followed with a group discussion about these rights.  Later on the children played Play For Peace games, which are designed to emphasize peace and unity without having a winner in the game.  After dinner, the group watched a Chinese movie titled “The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin,” which portrayed one man’s perseverance and ingenuity in the face of various obstacles.

On the second day the children learned about problem solving by playing a game called “Undo the Knot,” in which small groups of 10 had to form a knot by holding hand across a circle and one person had to try to untangle them.  They were then introduced to their right to development in a game where they were asked to draw a picture in a very strict environment and then an encouraging environment.  They recognized the benefits of having nurturing environments.  After the game the children watched a presentation about their right to participation.  The presentation was followed by a "Save your Friend", a game where they learned about the concept of collectives. While the children played these games, the adults discussed what their role should be in children’s problem solving and protecting children’s rights.  Next, the group learned about team building by playing two different games.  The children played a game where teams had to create the longest chain of newspaper strips in 5 minutes.  The adults played a game called “The Broken Square,” in which they had to solve a puzzle in teams.  The group then learned about responsibility in teams of three, where one person was blindfolded and the other two people had to lead him or her along a winding path by giving only verbal instructions.  Finally, the children learned about leadership by playing a game in which each child had to lead their group of five in a different task.  They also played a game with balloons and pins, in which the person with the pin represented the leader with power and had to learn how to use that power effectively.  The children then participated in a discussion about the responsibilities and qualities of good leaders.  In the evening, the group watched the film, “Main Azaad Hoon,” which taught about leadership.

The focus of the final day of the Consultation was to apply the concepts of collectives, leadership, teams, and responsibility to problem solving.  Adults and children worked together throughout, with the adults only acting as mediators.  The day began with a report of the previous day’s events and then transitioned to area-wise discussions about problems children face in their daily lives.  The children then presented their lists of issues to the group.  Then Balsena members from Bhavnagar, supported by Shaishav, gave a presentation on the development of the collective since its inception.  Shaishav gave a presentation on its role as facilitator to Balsena.  Next, the group separated into their organisation teams and created an action plan to address a problem that the children are currently facing.  Many of the children were inspired by the concept of Balsena and planned to form a collective of their own in their communities.  The group then took a field trip to Bhavnagar’s famous amusement park, Top 3, where they went on various rides.  The day concluded with a feedback session about the Consultation and some songs and jokes performed by the children.

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