Art for Healthy Lifestyle - Empowering Youth through Traditional Folk Arts, Street Theatre, and Painting

From February 2008 with partnership of ArtVenture Singapore , EMPOWER had been carrying out  a project  called  Art for Healthy Lifestyle in Tuticorin urban slums.

Most of the families in Tuticorin Urban slums have migrated from villages and have been uprooted from their traditions and culture. This alienation has resulted in the lack of belongingness and permissive social control. This had had negative impact on their value system. The main problems of the youth are:

• Drop –out from schools before completing the secondary education.
• Employment before the age of 18 years in unskilled menial jobs.
• Love affairs among the adolescents leading to unsafe sex, multi-partner relationships and also premarital sex and pregnancy.
• Sexual exploitation by the older members in the community and at work place.
• Early initiation into drugs such as cigarettes, beedis, marijuana, alcohol by a vast majority of male youth.
• Loosening social control and changing social mores due to globalization.

Goal: 

Slum Youth of Tuticorin adhering and sustaining safe behaviors and healthy lifestyle through practicing and living arts.

Objectives:

1. To provide them opportunities of creative expressions.
2. To enhance their personality and self esteem.
3. To analyze and cope up with pressures in life and effectively manage stress and emotions.
4. To instill values and ethics.
5. To promote gender sensitization and violence free life.
6. To prevent STD/HIV and drug and alcoholic abuse.

Training in Drawing and Painting:

A module was prepared in consultation with artists on various themes who have collaborated with the project as trainers.  Interested children from each area were identified in small group meetings and enrolled.  Both school going and non – school children are being enrolled and recruited for the drawing sessions.  About 1000 children had received 3 hours of drawing session.  For all the beneficiaries this is the only favorite pastime and had not been to any drawing and painting classes.

All the Children and resource persons had given a good feedback about the ongoing program. Each group had got one session per week for about 13- 15 weeks.  

Training in Traditional Folkarts :

Tamilnadu traditional folk arts as such dance and musical forms - Oyilaattam, Thappatam, , Kollattam, Kummiattam, Kallilalttam, Chakkatam , Karagaattam and folk songs , Nattupurapattu,  are being imparted to slum youth as an important  component of the project. The youth in the age group of 11-18 years had participated in the training sessions. About 475 youth have been trained in folkarts and about 150 of them are capacitated to perform on the stage in the Festival of Folk Arts.

Outcome of the Program:    

This project has received extraordinary positive response from the community – from children, their parents, teachers, heads of schools and the general public at large. 

Feedback from the Youth:                           

" It’s a great opportunity".

" I have seen these traditional dances in temple festivals .  I always wanted to dance myself .    Now I have learnt the basics  ! "

" Here  afterwards we can perform our own during temple festivals ."

"It is such a fun to be part of the group to dance all the day !"

"We are enthusiastic to learn more. Please train us on more dance forms "

"  It is great fun to dance Karagam"

" We thank EMPOWER for enabling us to learn free of cost.!"

"Our parents encourage us a lot !"

"I want to be folk art dancer in future !"

"Please help us to give this Paraiattam performance in T.V."

Feedback of folk arts trainers: 

"The youth are enthusiastic!"

"They have learnt with interest!"

"Their interest and energy is impressive"

‘They should sustain their learning’s through regular practice sessions."

"Most of them have rather learnt faster!"

"I am looking forward for their performance program!"

INTERIM REPORT