When was the last time that you felt truly happy? I experienced my moment of happiness yesterday when I saw so many ecstatic faces under one roof this Friday.
There were 15 young adults with intellectual as well as learning disabilities who interacted with the team of Social Street, Gurgaon. It was our first unique real-time interaction, sensitization event on capacities with the corporate world by working together on ‘A Canvas of Expression’. What actually is ‘A Canvas of Expression’?
At ‘In For: The Cause’, we believe that there is an immense scope and need to create avenues for inclusion. First, the communities need to be sensitized about the ‘abilities’ of the persons with disabilities. We thought to ourselves that nothing could be a better medium to connect individuals than an engaging art activity. It was thus chosen as a medium to break barriers and to create spaces.
The young adults were paired up with one team member of the company to create a ‘Canvas of Expression’. The pairs were given a task of printing a color pattern on a piece of muslin cloth. And the result was a happy ‘expression’ of colors and much more.
“Isn’t our canvas beautiful?”- Sakshi, Social Street
Both paired partners were exhilarated. There were gentle smiles and big smiles… There was love, empathy, mindfulness, and abundant joy.
“Why can’t we do this more often,”- Angad
We believe any activity is incomplete without music and dance…Don’t we all respond well to music? It was a pure delight to see everyone dancing merrily.
In the end, the staff members assembled the ‘Box of Happiness’. This generated a real time happiness. This was my story of experiencing joy. Let’s move forward and create more spaces for inclusion.
To experience this magic, please drop a line to madhavi@inforthecause.org.
“You might say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one.”
Written by: Minakshi Dewan
Minakshi Dewan holds a doctoral degree from the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has worked with various NGOs after completing her master’s degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has authored a picture book for children. She is also an expert blogger with Momspresso.