Creating a rights advocate
When we began with the idea we thought it would be just another programme, just another training. But when it began, it never seemed to end and it became bigger than the idea itself. You must be wondering, what the hell I am talking about! Well I am going to share with you a unique experience called the Rights Advocates.
The ‘Rights Advocate’ programme is Breakthrough’s initiative to train and educate the youth. They are taught new skills and given information to address others their age. The basic issues they deal with are Gender, Sexuality, Basics of HIV and Women’s vulnerability to HIV
The journey began one hot sultry afternoon in August, two years back with a group of young people from two universities. They brought with them diversity, energy, noise and great ideas. We made them sit down together and make a constructive model. They went through 12 workshops on seven weekends and then they were ready to inform others, so we thought we would put them to test, give them hands on experience of what it felt like to speak to other people and try and give them information or change their view point. So they were taken to two different colleges in Saharanpur and Dehradun, and they had to put up games stalls on information on HIV, conduct film screenings on HIV and hold panel discussions on basic information on HIV.
The first time, I saw apprehension on their faces and the need to do their work seriously, and on the morning of the event in Saharanpur, one of them said ” You have taken us much too seriously. We had just come to learn, but telling others and telling them correct information is a lot of responsibility. If we goof up then what?” Needless to say, they did an amazing job at the event, the boys conducted sessions with girls on basics of HIV, they handled questions on condom use and safe sex. In the evening when we sat for tea at the road side dhaba, I spoke to a group who seemed to have matured over a few hours of the event. Their voices were mellow, their eyes shining as everyone went through the experience of the day, they laughed at it and were in awe of themselves.
On returning to Delhi, they then conducted individual sessions in their univesity departments, in girls colleges and even in slum areas. That also marked the end of a year long association with Breakthrough. They were given certificates at the end with a lot of fan fare and ceremony. It certified that they could hold sessions independently on information provided to them. But that did not end their journey with Breakthrough. Some of them became mentors for the second group of youth educators, some of them went back to the college in Saharanpur and developed a new batch of Rights Advocates. Some even went ahead and worked with sex workers in the north-easten part of India.
This experience begins every year….and formally never ends.
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