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Tag: Lakshya

Lakshya 2013 Kick-off @ Bengaluru

Posted on August 9, 2013August 5, 2014 by Vaishali Rajan

Following with our series on Lakshya Kick-off at Chennai centres, we are back with updates from our Bangalore & Trichy Lakshya centres. Lets hear it out from one of our Bangalore volunteer:

“It was my first day at Bhumi for lakshya session. My team met up at BBMP High School in Bangalore. We started off with a group discussion on how do we carry out the activity which was planned. All of us were involved in carrying out a demo before starting it with the children. We were prepared and walked to the school play ground. We carried out the activities with enthusiasm and I must say that it was truly an ice breaker. It was fun and everyone enjoyed it. The children were also very happy. Also, I observed that a few of the children were very creative in executing the activity in a completely different way. Overall, I had an amazingly wonderful experience being with them, getting to know them as well and also I had a very good and valuable time with these children who look forward for support, guidance and trust. I thank Bhumi and Lakshya for giving me this opportunity to contribute for a better tomorrow.”

– Chethna, BBMP High School, Bangalore

Lakshya Kick-off 2013

Posted on July 20, 2013August 5, 2014 by Vaishali Rajan

June has been an amazing month for Lakshya. With a huge bunch of new volunteers joining us from the Orientation held in May-June, most of us have been super busy preparing for a fresh academic year. This year, we have expanded to newer centres in Chennai itself. 🙂

Not only did we have multiple induction sessions, we also kicked off the inaugural sessions at all our centres in Chennai this month. Not to forget about overwhelming response of the new members, who have officially been baptized into Lakshya 😉

Ripples team has made an attempt to capture their fresh experience.

“Located about 2 kms off OMR, the place is a single hall of roughly 10 feet by 25 feet. We were anticipating a rugged set of kids based on the initial contact we had made with the caretaker of the place. But the 24 odd kids who turned up were surprisingly well-behaved, contrary to the warning we had received. We engaged them in initial introductions. Though cricket, football, volleyball were the most popular responses amongst the guys there was one interesting response from the handful of girls who turned up – she mentioned that she likes to study. It was wonderful to hear someone say that out loud.

To break the ice and connect with the kids, we started off with an activity which they would be able to relate to easily. We chose simple questions like studies or sports, math or science and asked them to move around to each of the four walls depending on their choice – A, B, neither A nor B, both A and B. This elicited excitement in the kids especially when we put up questions related to the favourite actors and food preferences. Few of them began to open up and pass jovial comments or two. The other kids followed their lead and began voicing their opinions on what the next questions should be. The kids had a good amount of fun.

Next up was the balloon race where they were split into teams of three and asked to play a relay race. They were asked to blow up the balloon from one end of the wall, release it into the air and moving to the point where it fell down and continue this till they reached the other end of the wall. All 8 members in each team had to do this to complete the race and the more mature kids passed on techniques to the younger ones on how to get it done fast. It was great to see the team spirit they portrayed in the course of this event.

The finale for the day was a good old game of dumb charades. Following that, a few kids came up on stage to exhibit their talent on the dance floor and their native folk (gaana) song. At the end of the two hour session, most kids wanted more to come. We took a quick survey of what they wished to learn in the coming months and figured that some of them were ambitious. They mentioned that they wished to learn to play most sports, to learn more of the current affairs and wanted help with their studies. It was the perfect crowd for our Bhumi’s Lakshya program. The volunteers will get a good opportunity to help and guide them with their dreams.

Being a first timer at Lakshya I was looking forward to this day. And I can strongly say that I will remember the 29^th of June, 2013 for the rest of my life. The joy and earnest enthusiasm in the kids, the sparkle in their eyes when they got the answers right during dumb charades – those are the intangibles which cannot be obtained anywhere else. Hopefully we volunteers will get to learn and grow along with the children at this centre.”

– Akhilesh, PBC Kandanchavadi, Chennai

“This is my very first experience in handling kids of 15 to 16 yrs. It was really useful as it taught me how kids of various backgrounds get groomed. I would say that their circle of people and the kind of environment is being the detrimental factor in their childhood grooming. But I could see a lot of innate potential skills in them as good as normal children of their age. All they need is just our tendering and support and the right ambience for them to groove their skills with little focus on changing their lifestyle. Overall, it taught me certain aspects like patience, tolerance, perseverance in changing their attitude and helped me locate my interest too!”

– Akshaya Harini, Bala Mandir, T.Nagar, Chennai

Lakshya team in Chennai has had an exciting month. What happened in the Bangalore and Trichy chapters of Lakshya?? Coming up in the next edition 🙂

A Peep into Lakshya Induction

Posted on July 20, 2013August 5, 2014 by Vaishali Rajan

As I signed up for Lakshya during the orientation, I was called to take part in the induction session at Balamandir on G.N Chetty Road on June 30^th, to get to know more about Lakshya and its various activities. As luck may have it, I ended up reaching the induction almost an hour late!

The security guard at the gate saw the rush in me and thankfully guided me to the right room. I entered and saw a sizable group of 6-7 people sitting on the mat in a circle and looking at the screen on a presentation keenly. Looking at the watch and looking at my worried expressions the team decided to ask me to do an ice breaker activity wherein I was asked to do something to entertain the group! I chose to conduct a drawing analysis test, I had learnt a few weeks back from a friend, on the new joiners sitting there. Thankfully Ramya agreed to take part in it wholeheartedly. Leaving the details aside, I can tell you that my findings (actually wild guesses) were rather well appreciated and accepted! Hope she is not reading this article 🙂

After I was done with my test and the group had introduced itself, we were taken through a very informative presentation on Lakshya and its various activities. Until then, I had just heard them speak about various activities in a very broad manner but this session actually introduced us to various activities in which the volunteers can engage themselves as a part of the team. It was quite encouraging to note that Lakshya team really believes in a “two- way” transfer of knowledge and mentors here actually get a chance to learn something back from the organization.

Done with the presentation and introduction, our (g)hosts 😛 decided to introduce us to the real difficulties, which we will be required to tackle as part of team Lakshya by asking us to take part in a role playing game. In this game all the joiners were divided into groups of two in which one took the role of a mentor and the other, the role of a student. Both the partners in the group were supposed to alternate between the two roles and get to know each other in the process. It was actually a very creative way to make us experience the dynamics of mentorship. I ended up learning that mentorship is not really about giving solutions to the problems that a child may be facing, rather it’s more about building a rapport and comfort level with that child. Rest everything takes care of itself! Obviously this requires lot of patience and commitment from the mentor’s side.We ended this role playing game by watching a humorous video of Kamal Hassan in which he tries to tackle a tough kid!

Before concluding the session the table was left open for any doubts or questions that the new joiners might have. I had a couple of questions myself and they were duly clarified! All in all it was a wonderful session and I really look forward to taking part in various activities and building team Lakshya!

Cheers!

– Rahul Aggarwal, Lakshya Chennai

Tutoring @ BM

Posted on March 22, 2013August 5, 2014 by Vaishali Rajan

“Do the best possible attempt to help students in studies with any effort required…”

Tutoring came as a spark in Bala Mandir (BM) from a few Lakshya volunteers (Prasanna, Rajan, Rajasekar, Marwa, Satheesh, Gnanambigai to name a few) during the 2011-12 academic year. Despite lot of concerns from the management in terms of productivity and the impact it can create to the students, we were successful in conducting the tutoring sessions. From then on it has come a long way. Continuing the momentum, 2012-13 has been a steep learning curve for tutoring in BM. “Tutoring has been really good this year. Compared to last year, it was more organized and quite challenging” says Satheesh, who has been a key tutor at BM. There had been suggestions to start tutoring from 9^th class itself to make the basics clear for the students and help them excel.

So, how to go about a tutoring session? You need to plan a lot of things like small fun activities or a math trick (especially when it is a Maths session) to make the students feel comfortable. The main thing for the tutor is to choose the subject you love to teach from basics and be comfortable with. The plan should have a long term goal to be covered at an appropriate time along with small short term goals. The planning phase should also include a backup plan.

The primary factor in charting the plan is Time & Time-table i.e. how am I going to manage my time to co-ordinate with that of the student. Another major factor is the student’s interest level and ability along with tutors’ attempt to make the subject more interesting without boring the student. Not always there is an interest to study for the students, that too with someone who has already been mentoring every week. “Do the best possible attempt to help students in studies with any effort required & reach out to someone when you require assistance or not sure of any situation or resolution.” says Prasanna who pioneered the tutoring team last year.

Another key aspect to look for is the current situation of the student. Due considerations need to be given when it comes to pressure, family problems, friendships and their biological issues. Before we start studying together, it is better the tutor spends time to get rid of unwanted things and make the student pick up his books. It happened successfully for one of the tenth standard student in BM, who had issues with memorizing and low scores. It is equally important for the tutor to be little flexible in making the student study. Make a time table to his/her convenience to study.

The important thing in tutoring is to understand the student’s potential and to learn along with them. You are 90% successful then. Teaching is just a topping for the rest 10%. That brings confidence and instills greatness in thoughts to the student. It also helps the tutor to set goals. Thus, it not only helps the students but also the tutors to groom in a personal level.

Last but not the least; don’t give any false promise or appreciation.

Ripples team would like to congratulate all the tutors who have put forth their time, commitment, dedication, energy and efforts in enriching the students’ knowledge and enable them progress in their academics.

Volunteer Speaks

Posted on March 22, 2013August 5, 2014 by Vaishali Rajan

“Every weekend, after spending valuable time with them, I won’t feel like leaving them”

T K Nivetha Bhumi – Lakshya, Maanavar Illam, Trichy	As an active member of BHUMI, I would like to share my views on “Lakshya”. Lakshya is a project which makes students to relieve their stress and improve their mental ability through various interactive games and group activities. I like the project for its cause and that made me choose it. I have always wanted to work for the society and this organisation makes my weekends special ones. I get to meet really talented students and the time spent with them always stays close to my heart. It gives me a satisfaction and explains me what life is all about when a responsibility is given. And about the students at Maanavar Illam, the time spent with them is so special and memorable. Every weekend, after spending valuable time with them, I won’t feel like leaving them. They need guidance and support in every moment of their life. I am there to help them. I consider this job valuable and heart touching. I will always work for the society and my contribution towards it will be never ending.

Feb 9^th 2013 was a wonderful day at Ramakrishna Mission Students Home (RKM) as I witnessed the versatility of students performing at the sports day celebration and more importantly a fully themed drama that has gone for nearly one and half hour about the life story of Swami Vivekananda. Most of the characters including the lead role of Swami Vivekananda were played by the 9^th std students who are part of Lakshya program. I didn’t even think that the drama will be such serious one. I was astonished by our students’ performance / make-up / choreography etc. we can keep on adding. The Vivekananda character (and some other characters also) shaved their head to match the role they are playing. The make-ups were in such a way that we will have to look very closely and strain our eyes to find who they are, The students were just into their character / role. I have not seen before any such drama performed by students that is well established, themed, spirited etc…and I am very happy to share my joy with all of my fellow Lakshyans !:-)		J Sarathi Bhumi – Lakshya RKM, Chennai