The turnout today seemed larger than usual, but the day was still quite sober. I was welcomed with the usual hugs, and requests for piggyback rides The theatre group from Christ college arrived to entertain the kids. The skit which the troupe put up allowed for a lot...
End of a chapter!
The caravan started around 2 P.M. We started with getting the kids to color a few pictures and do puzzles. We finished around 4, with the usual chaos around the mike. We got the kids to form a circle and sing “too tee ta” and said our goodbyes.And that is...
New game, new fun!
After I checked in, I went outside the room where a few small girls like Tulsi and her friends were playing with the rubber ring. They said that it was boring and wanted to play something else. We thus, set up a water can in the center of the aisle and designed a new...
A bitter-sweet goodbye!
This was my last caravan and as I entered the caravan, the kids jumped on me and dragged me to the drawing corner. Little Shilpa sat on my lap and started colouring and telling me all about her grandma’s passing. She sobbed softly as she spoke about it and I...
A calm Caravan… How often does that happen?!
The Caravan started at around 2:00pm with not a single kid in sight. I was rather shocked but then slowly we had about 10 tiny ones come in and the Caravan began. To start with we got the kids to color a few pictures and some kids were solving puzzles.The kids seemed...
The older brother streak
Between the games that we were playing at the Caravan, I was able to talk to Surya who told me about the problems he was facing at home. He said he fights with his father to allow him to go to school and his mother supports him. He says his dream is to become rich so...
Bright sun makes for a pleasant Caravan
The small number of volunteers at the start of caravan posed a problem for all the volunteers to keep track of the kids. But the bright sunny day, made most of the kids confine themselves to indoor activities for a change which made it easier for us volunteers to keep...
A mixture of fun and heartbreak
The day started out rather chaotic, when the kids got bored and restless as the volunteers were planning to go for the performance and receiving parents and visitors. Leaving behind a few distraught kids was disheartening for all of us but the whole experience was...
We get better with every block
Today, I realized how attached these kids are to us. For the past few weeks I’ve been playing with Satyanarayana and Kiran throughout the caravan. Even this week, when I reached they both came and sat with me, which made me feel really good. 🙂 Satyanarayana was...
Ballet, hunger, and cheers
I was just as excited to be going for the ballet performance as the kids were and was really looking forward to it. Even the kids who weren’t eligible obviously caught the excitement and wanted to go. There was a lot of begging, screaming, crying and an...
Goodbyes are hard
As soon as I got to the caravan, we were told to get individual feedback from the children. So I went to the puzzles stall so that I could sit down with them and get the answers. As soon as I went there, it was nice to see that many of the kids immediately called me...
The kids talk to us about the Caravan
The caravan looked rather empty today as there were a lot less volunteers and kids. We were given the feedback questions to ask the kids as soon as we entered. We continued with the Caravan activities and at the same time tried to talk to the kids. It was sort of...
Tackle is all about freedom of expression
…The third question in our evaluation with the kids about Caravan enquired about what they told their parents about caravan. To which they replied that, they went home and told their parents about the freedom Tackle gives them, the various toys they are allowed...
Thanksgiving Weekend
…For me the caravan was an exotic experience and I was part of it for selfish reasons. But now its become part of my life and the unconditional love the kids shower us with is incredible and heartwarming. Believe me, their smiles and tight hugs just make my day,...
LEGO calms one kid, disappointment hits another, but Tackle love is all around
…Meanwhile some of the kids were playing with the LEGO blocks and doing puzzles, close to where we sat. As I skimmed over everyone playing and doing their own thing, I witnessed something which came as more of a shock but it was like one of those...
Mistakes in Kannada are not a problem for our kids!
The caravan yesterday as the first of it’s kind, where we volunteers put up a skit for the kids on the occasion of Diwali (late as it may be) and Children’s day. Before the skit was presented the kids were given diyas and asked to paint them to the...
Diwali celebrations!
Getting to the school ground, little did I expect it to be one of the best caravans ever. Starting off with a little commotion as it was not the usual caravan, everything fell in place soon thereafter. The rain, though constant, could not play spoilsport as the...
Breaking barriers and stereotypes
I was glad to be back at the caravan after quite a while.It was an unusually hot Saturday afternoon but then the kids were energetic as ever and delighted to see us.I did not get to interact much with the kids this time,hence it was more of an observing thing for me....
Caravan after Diwali
It felt AMAZING to be back after almost a one month gap! The kids were excited to bits and we couldn’t help but forget all the activities and talk about everything we missed. They shared what they did on Diwali, got angry with us because we didn’t come see...
God maybe unfair but this girl still dreams
…After a while, Ashwini, one of the girls I usually interact with every week, came. I was seeing her after a long time, so I generally asked her how she had been and what she had been up to. She was telling me about how she had to go to a wedding that evening...