Project Parahu (Let's Study): Capacity-building and Art Classes

Namaste,

I am Samikchya Sharma from a social work organization, SAATH, meaning “Support” and “Togetherness” in Nepali. 

Our work all started on June 25, 2004, when 11 youths with an educational background in social work started youth-led programs on several social issues, including HIV and AIDS, Drug Use, LGBTI, with the marginalized communities in Nepal. Our mission is to “Work with the most marginalized youth for positive socio-economic transformations through entrepreneurial and community-driven skills development and with children for educational support”.

We envision “a society where every individual has pathways to access equal opportunities and rights”.

SAATH has two signature programs at present: Hakuna Matata, a program designed to ensure capacity building and holistic development of marginalized children, and Awasar, our evidence-based sustainable livelihood development program. Project Parahu, a project of Hakuna Matata initiated in November 2021, works with children and youth of Janakpur, a sub- metropolitan city in Dhanusha district which lies in the southern belt of Nepal.

The southern belt of Nepal experiences challenges in terms of resource sharing, gender equality, education and participation. 

Poverty and illiteracy have further escalated the living conditions of ethnic minorities and indigenous groups in the region. Dhanusa district of Province No. 2 is ranked one of the lowest in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) in Nepal. Musahar, Dom, Dushad, and Chamar are among the socially excluded and discriminated, economically exploited, and politically marginalized groups in the southern belt of Nepal and are categorized as Terai Dalits. The Dalit community, often referred to as the “untouchables” of Province No. 2 experiences a similar fate when it comes to access to resources and treatment.

The highest level of education reached is Primary level for 40.2% of the total population in the district. 

Similarly, the majority of the young men, even from the area, have gone to the gulf countries for labor jobs. This has also left a good impression on the younger boys and children, which has significantly increased their dropouts from the schools.

Project Parahu, which means “Let’s Study” in Maithili, is an capacity-building initiative of SAATH to engage with the children and the facilitators of the Musahar community, a Dalit or an “untouchables” community, in the Dhanusha district. 

This project aims to support and facilitate the children's learning levels, extra-curricular engagements and educational outcomes through literacy classes and workshops. At the same time, it also aims to support the capacity of the facilitators through training and capacity-building workshops.

Every morning and afternoon, at a learning center in Govindpur rural municipality of Dhanusha district in Nepal, 280 children of the Musahar community take part in learning programmes facilitated by 4 facilitators, who are members of the same community. Although these children go to nearby public schools as well, they go to the learning center to attend ongoing activities and utilize learning resources in pursuit of learning.

The ongoing initiatives at the learning centre include: numeracy and literacy classes, a monthly supply of stationery for the children, facilitators’ remuneration, teacher’s training, teachers’ refresher training and extracurricular activities. 

With these initiatives, we hope to educationally empower and encourage children to build their capabilities outside of school and support the facilitators.

With the grant from Books Beyond Borders, we wish to conduct the following activities to build the capacity of the 280 children, as well as to cultivate their interest and capabilities in the arts. 

A) Training of Trainers (ToT) and Capacity-building Workshop

In light of the number of children coming to the learning center and the availability of facilitators, individualized learning with a focus on the learning levels of the children has been challenging. Group-based learning is not possible due to high teacher-student ratios.

The 4 facilitators of the learning center are high school graduates belonging to the same Musahar community. Apart from receiving a few rounds of training on the following topics: Classroom Management, Facilitation Skills, Developing Lesson Plans, Annual Classroom Planning, Low Resource Teaching Styles and Methodologies and Emotional Intelligence, the teachers have minimal resources and opportunities.

The proposed capacity-building workshop, which focuses on leadership and public speaking, is a great opportunity for the facilitators to explore their true potential, while increasing their competency in transferring their learning to their students. 

Facilitators will receive training following the Training of Trainers (ToT) Model on capacity-building to work with selected groups of children in the learning center. These facilitators will then conduct the workshops with the aim of improving the leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills of the children who showcase an extra zeal to learn and work towards supporting other children in the community.

B) Art Classes

6 children who are passionate and with basic skills in Mithila Art, a style of painting practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal, will be selected from the learning center to attend art classes. These art classes form the 30-hour art course developed and trained by an art teacher with a strong foundation in Mithila Art. The selected group will be trained in making Mithila Art in different bases.

C) Art Exhibition

All the art made by the children after their art training will be showcased in support of the local schools through an Art Exhibition. The exhibition will be a platform for the children to showcase their engagement as well as an opportunity to engage with the local government.

D) Sales of Art

In collaboration with Danfe Works Enterprises Nepal, a social enterprise to support and sustain the efforts of SAATH projects, these children will also have an opportunity to sell their art during the exhibition. The amount collected will be directly channeled to the children who made the Art.

The grant will be used to develop workshop manuals, provide workshop materials as well as to hire a trainer for the facilitators TOT and workshop on capacity-building. They will also go towards the art materials and art instructor fees for the Mithila art classes, and the setting up and organization of the art exhibition.