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When I came across this tag-line in a beach I visited  some time ago (Abu Dhabi) , I was attracted towards it, so I decided to to use it an interesting way to organize ourselves when we engage in our community work. And here is why?  I am me and you are you, but what makes me, me and you, you? The question still remains unanswered, what makes you, you? Just by uttering these words doesn’t give a proper answer. It’s just stating a fact without giving any reason. Although, it looks more of a philosophical question, it is very interesting to ponder upon. So, what do you think of this? Let’s see.  It is a though provoking way to revisit our identities and of others that has a great impact on us. We all have an awareness of who we are and no matter what language we speak, where we come from, the color of our skin, what we eat, how we dress, we still have different words that help us differentiate ourselves from one another. The concept of ‘individual...

A simple exercise to practice the importance of appreciating diversity. Suitable for a low-resource classroom.  This is a folk tale from India. You can rehearse the story several times and tell it or have students act it out rather than reading it aloud or having students read it alone. Before you present the story to the class, ask students to give their interpretations of the word "see." You may randomly pick or get students to volunteer to answer this question.  Objectives Students will describe different perspectives and how those perspectives impact an individual's point of view. Students will articulate their own perspectives and how those perspectives may impact their perceptions of others and situations. Activity  Before reading, reinforce the idea that "seeing" can mean perceiving something visually   or   understanding an idea after listening to the answers given by student. Ask students to listen  to the story for e...

This is a simple exercise to practice active listening and non-violent communication.  Find a partner. One person will speak about a personal problem for ten minutes, while the other person listens. Listen in total silence or with questioning comments that reflect the meaning back to the person speaking. For example, if you’d like to verify a place that the other person mentioned, you may do it. But avoid, your feelings as you listen such as , Oh! You must have felt embarrassed by that! Use the steps outlined below. Switch roles and debrief. Guidelines  • Always agree to work the problem out.  • Use “I” statements to give your perception of the situation. • Always say: “I need” rather than “You” as in “You are…” or “You make me…” • State the observations that are leading you to feel the need to say something. These are observable facts providing a common ground for communication. • State the feeling that the observation is triggering...

Nonviolent Communication with Listening Skill happens to be one of the greatest challenges to peace building. This is simple because of the difficulty of communicating in a way that brings people together, even when they are in conflict. People often do not like to listen when they are faced with a problem as they have a tendency to feel that they are right and their actions are justified. Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed over the last twenty years by Marshall Rosenburg and his trainees, strengthens our ability to respond compassionately to others and to ourselves. Thus, we use many tools present in NVC in the healing process and activities we do at ESHKOL. Through its emphasis on deep listening–to ourselves as well as others–NVC fosters respect, empathy, and a mutual desire to give from the heart. These skills, which we try to establish in the social circles we create our center, we emphasize personal responsibility for our actions and the choices we make when we resp...

Service-learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs.  It's interesting to note that when  parents/ guardians and school communities take efforts to nurture a child’s sense of compassion and commitment toward their community, unknowingly they build a better world for the present and for the future. While engaging in important community work, service-minded families are growing children and teenagers who are more likely to become civically engaged, thoughtful, caring, and generous adults for the society they live in. Based on the need to build the community just as the investment we do in young people and children to become active agents in the society- the future of a nations, it is essential to invest in the older generations too to support the process. This understanding of linking both generations gave birth to the ESHKOL community...

Our workshops in Batticaloa, at the peace village, Kalladi, Thirukovil concluded successfully. The themes that were covered were on identifying environmental problems affecting these communities, a brainstorming session was conducted, followed by writing action plans. The participants were divided into home groups where they learnt community servicing and the importance of living as a community. Some snap shots of the program. We invited eminent leaders in the community to share their journey who at no cost were willing to share their journey with us.

A three month long  program with the support of the principal of Puniyakami Vidyalaya, Ms Hema Peiris, we were able to get one hour from their kindergarten classes to conduct our program a week long. It was the first of its kind to be held in a primary school and we enjoyed it a lot. We thank the school community for bringing about changes in their environment to suit the project themes, and the above pictures show some of the hand work, art work we developed along with the students, staff to bring the idea of "greening the school community".