Youth Empowerment
28 February 2009
DIYA Project Activities- February 2009
The Deep Griha Integrated Youth Center (DIYA) and the DISHA program joined together to celebrate Youth AIDS Day on the 26th of February. The day featured a comprehensive exhibition with posters detailing information about HIV/AIDS, as well as interactive activities to help the youth process the information that they were receiving. DISHA fieldworkers from both Tadiwala and Ramtekadi took small groups of youth on a “tour” of the exhibition, discussing the content of the posters. Volunteers from the UK, USA, France, Rwanda, and India facilitated a poster competition, slogan writing activity, and quiz about HIV/AIDS. Later in the day, DISHA offered a hour-long awareness session on HIV/AIDS. The day’s program concluded with a drumming workshop lead by Bhargavi Davar- the director of the Center for Advocacy in Mental Health.
Cricket fever has broken out in Ramtekadi after a group of youth from Tadiwala Road and Ramtekadi won a city-wide cricket tournament last month. This win is a great accomplishment, especially considering that it was the first time many of the boys had played with a proper cricket ball. They usually practice with a tennis ball! Will Cohen, a DIYA volunteer from the UK, wanted to give the boys a chance to play with proper nets, pads, and equipment. With Will’s initiative and the help of one of our local Pune volunteers, DIYA took eleven boys to the Ideal Colony Cricket Ground in Kothrud to receive coaching and to also practice. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed a lunch out and went home with a new experience.
Despite the scorching heat, a group from DIYA claimed Fort Sinhagad for themselves. A busload of youth, volunteers, and staff disembarked at the foot of Fort Sinhagad at 12:30pm. A long, grueling two and a half hours, everyone had made it to the top of the fort to enjoy the stunning view and enjoy a relaxing lunch after a tiring, but satisfying trek. On the way back to Ramtekadi, the bus made a brief stop at the Khadakwasla Dam for everyone to enjoy the view and get a cold drink!
Category: Youth Empowerment
