NalandaWay works with children from challenging situations from the poorest
districts around the country, helping them raise their voices and issues through theatre, visual arts, music, dance, radio and films. Over 5700 disadvantaged children and young people in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar; and Jammu & Kashmir have participated in our workshops. These workshops have helped them learn creativity, life skills and self-confidence to create the lives that they truly want to create.

Challenges faced by at-risk children and youth

Children and young people housed in residential care centres are emotionally disturbed; they frequently have been physically abused, are prone to violent behaviour and may have been involved in crimes. They often fare poorly in school, yell or physically fight to handle social conflicts and are highly likely to engage in risky behaviours (substance use, or unprotected sex). And they struggle to make successful transitions to the community.

In addition to this, many of the children and youth lived in difficult home environments. Such homes and neighbourhoods often lack the capac­ity or “collective efficacy” to limit delinquency and youth violence. A majority of the young people lived in single-mother households. Recent research has found that children living with a single parent are three times more likely than children living with both parents to be a victim of a vio­lent crime.

Training methodology

NalandaWay’s training approach uses participatory drama as their core content.  We use a variety of applied theatre forms, namely advanced role-play, improvisation, creative games and exercises, storytelling and other participatory training techniques.  The workshops act as a way to educate and inspire around a range of issues and contribute to solutions for a better future. Participation in the workshops also helps to develop:

In all our projects we use theatre and drama techniques as the core platform. Theatre we believe helps us to unlearn from our conditioning and helps us to think ‘out-of-the-box’ to issues in our environment. Theatre is also an experiential fun way to learn complex concepts.

Mentoring

Accomplished people with rich experience from different ‘walks of life’ are recruited and trained to become mentors for children aged between 8 and 14. Mentors commit to meeting with the children for an hour a week throughout the school year. Mentors meet one-to-one with the children at the home during agreed times. While mentors and students might spend some time on school-work, they also engage in other activities (such as playing sports and games, exploring nature, doing artwork, writing a story, eating lunch together, talking) that help build a strong relationship.

Talent promotion

Promoting talent and providing opportunities for children to express themselves through art and media.