In retrospect my decision to go to India and become a volunteer was quite spontaneous. And now Ican say: “that was the best decision I could have ever made!“ Throughout my time here in India I experienced so many things. It was full of fun, people, trips,music, colours, festivals and more. There also used to be tough times in which I struggled. But I never felt left alone. There were other volunteers helping me, who I could talk to. And…
Our team of facilitators conducted the Social Leadership Workshop on 18th and 19th Feb for a group of 18 college students from Milagres College (Kalyanpur), Laxmi Soma Bangera college (Kota), Rukmini Shedthi Memorial college (Barkur). The facilitator’s engaged participants in discussions which resulted in some impactful learnings and reflections: Number Punch activity A leader does not necessarily always lead. Sometimes a leader has to follow others. Remember that others are following you as well. Your actions matter. What makes a…
It was wonderful to come together after a year for the Social Leadership T3 which was held from 15th to 17th Feb at our Center for Experiential Living (CEL) in Kundapur. The energy that each one of us carried was very special. The 3-day workshop brought out many learnings and experiences for our facilitators and the trainees, as we went deeper into exploring the following: 1. What does a facilitator do differently from a trainer? 2. The value that “pausing”…
El-Shaddai is a Children’s Home outside of Chennai. Here we, Svenja and Julia, work for 11 months as volunteers, with 34 children. Now, the time is already half gone and we had a great time till now. Usually, we support the children with their daily routine like getting ready for school. Our main part, where we really can help the most is the study time. Every school day, there is 1 1/2 hour’s time to do homework and study for…
Having heard so much about FSL India’s 100th Monkey programme, I decided to visit St Theresa’s School, and experience first-hand the ‘workings’ of our programme. I set off with Madhuri, and picked up Madhumathi (FSL India’s facilitators at Bangalore) along the way. My first impression when I walked into the classroom was a sea of smiling faces. The children were excited to see me (a new face always generates interest) and a babel of voices broke out. “Namaste, Madam”, “Good…
Have you heard the story of an elephant being tied to a pole with a rope? Where the elephants could, at any time, break free from their bonds, but for some reason, they do not! Coz, “when they are very young and much smaller, they used the same sized rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them, but as they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope…
What comes to your mind when you hear the word treasure box? Usually Jewels, Gold, Silver and any other valuable materialistic things that are kept very safe, right? ‘What’s in my Treasure Box?’ was the activity conducted at Vidya Jyothi School in session 17, this session was the 5th session on self-exploration. Firstly I would like to share some interesting things I witnessed with my group at this school from when the self-exploration/awareness activities have started. This bunch of 35…
Until the 10th session, I have been having fun in FSL India’s 100th monkey sessions. As I am staying at a residential school, I have all the facilities here. I had to challenge myself, if there is a problem I have to check it once again. For the 12th session, thanks to the facilitator, I became a Group leader, so it was a little complicated for me to lead the group with problem solving. So I realised that near our…
Ayurveda believes that all living beings are the same – be it human beings, plants, animals, or any other living organism simply because we are all made up of the same 5 elements. These 5 elements are – Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jal), Air (Vayu), Fire (Agni) and Space (Akash). Each of these elements has its own character, and together, they combine to form life. Since our body is also made up of these 5 elements, we need to ensure that…
Last year, FSL India launched a youth development programme exclusively for Indian youth called 100th Monkey. 100th Monkey aims to develop Self Actualisation and Active Citizenship to build youth forces who are conscious and competent citizens of our country. The aims and objectives of 100th Monkey are many and varied. The program aims to: Develop physical, intellectual, emotional and social abilities of the children and assist in Self Actualisation. Assist the children to experience a sense of belonging and ownership….