Mumbai Smiles participates in Shanti Arts Project

This is by far one of the most interesting projects that we’ve been a part of. Shanti Arts Project, an initiative taken to create awareness through theatre, arts and culture. This Project was done in collaboration with Monde par la main / Give a Hand organisation based in Canada. This Project was undertaken to create awareness in the Mumbai Smiles strategic areas and also give an opportunity to our beneficiaries to do something for the community. It was done in two batches, coordinated by Mr. Pravin Birhade.

The beneficiaries included in this were from Future Smiles, HOPE, LSE Boys and Girls, Balwadi teachers and SEED women. 5 students from Future Smiles project acted as facilitators between the other beneficiaries and resource persons; which included translation of English to Hindi or Marathi making the union much simpler. Then the beneficiaries were divided into sections based on their interest of culture, art, theatre, painting etc. Each theme had a expert in their field that guided the beneficiaries and teachers.

Dance facilitator; tech sambha guru, Mrs. Karla taught the children of the first batch dance and a drama based on the theme of ‘promoting girl child education’. They covered issues such as gender discrimination, abortion, superstition and the importance of girl child education.  For the second batch the theme was ‘leadership’ wherein they covered issues such as taking leadership in social causes and issues, the role of oneself in bringing change into a society.

The painting session was conducted under the guidance of Mr. Joel and Miss. Ilana. Here the students participated in mural painting the area of Marol Pipeline; a strategic area of Mumbai Smiles communities.  The theme for both the batches were same; the first batch made paintings that depicted the role of education in a girl’s life. From being a fruit seller to an independent women. The second batch painted qualities of leadership; these murals were done at Marol Naka and Marol Naka near the metro station.

One can still see the murals if passing by the Marol Naka Metro Station. Its awe inspiring.

The closing ceremony included performances such as painting presentations, dance and drama by the beneficiaries.

Like always we love to receive feedback from all the participating members. Here’s what they had to say-

Mr. Joel said “I enjoyed the two weeks with Mumbai Smiles and their beneficiaries. The beneficiaries did great job for their community. It’s very difficult to do this type of hard work but that didn’t deter the beneficiaries. The Project was done successfully and we felt nice being support by Mumbai Smiles and their staff”.

Mr. Daniel Lalande of Give A Hand Organization said “We are very happy that we conducted two batches successfully with Mumbai Smiles. Their support and coordination was great. Thanks for that.”

Mrs. Karla said “I enjoyed a lot these two weeks with the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries were very active and they performed very well during the closing ceremony”.

The beneficiaries who were involved in the Project as Facilitators said “We are really lucky to have been a part of this activity and Project. In these two weeks we got to interact with all the other Project beneficiaries. Mumbai Smiles gave us this nice opportunity to be a part of this project and learn a lot of things. We would like to express our gratitude to Mumbai Smiles for this.”

 The beneficiary from LSE Project said “ Before the Shanti Arts we knew very little about dance but from this Projects we learn various art of dancing. We especially liked the fact of conveying social messages through these various art forms. We feel that we did something for our community and that feeling is nice”.