They’ve all been to the school of hard knocks. So, when girls from three shelter homes on Friday presented skits on alcoholism, early marriage and human trafficking, the audience comprising visitors from the US consulate in Calcutta, including Jay Treloar, the deputy director of American Center, as well as NGOs, were impressed.
The last day of a three-day camp, the second in series, saw 30 inmates of three shelter homes, Asha Kiran, Asha and Sahyog Village, generate awareness against evil evils through theatrical performances at Asha Kiran, a shelter home at Fudi in Khunti on Friday afternoon.
The event was held in partnership with a Chennai-based social organisation Katradi.
“The most striking aspect was that these girls gave these ideas themselves, learnt how to present them and did so convincingly in three days. No stage fright,” said Suman Das,one of the trainers.
Earlier in November, 2018, a five-day hockey and leadership camp was organised in November 2018 to create awareness through sports where 106 girls from six districts vulnerable to trafficking and child marriage were trained by seven sports envoys from Middlebury College in Vermont, US.
On Friday evening, about 30 girls from Khunti and Simdega who attended the earlier hockey camp came to Fudi for an exhibition match which Khunti won 3-1.
“These girls are practising regularly and Simdega police are helping them do so smoothly,” said Rishi Kant of New Delhi-based anti-trafficking NGO Shakti Vahini that partnered the hockey camp last year.
Fluent English
Jay Treloar, deputy director of American Center in Calcutta, reviewed the ongoing English access micro-scholarship programme of the US embassy at Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya at nearby Kalamati in Khunti on Saturday. The two-year training began with 25 girls between the ages of 13 and 20 from disadvantaged homes last December to enable them speak fluent English. Once they finish the two-year training of 360 hours, the girls will be eligible to apply for exchange programmes and studies in the US.
These students on Saturday staged an English skit on healthy diet. “I’m really impressed with their poise and English,” Treloar said.