Story of a Never Say Die Spirit

In June 07 I attended the first State level Tournament with our advanced level Table Tennis children. It was an excellent platform for our children who have been playing TT for the last 3 years. Unfortunately, our children lost the first rounds of the tournament. During the matches and discussion after each match, I realized that it is not the lack of skill set which is the problem, but the lack of encouragement. Even in our regular practice sessions I observed that these children have a lot of energy and fitness to defeat the opponents from the mainstream. What they needed was support and encouragement.


I decided to give them continues support and encouragement through out the year and I was sure that this would work out and change them. I sat down with them, spoke to them after each and every session, gave them on the spot corrections while they were playing, and some times I challenged them and rewarded them when they met it. Small gestures like a pat on the back saying "Well Played" or "You can do it" or "Its ok. Fight back" would go a long way. A rapport established between me and the children. I realized the children started approaching me for more feedback.


5 months later the results were to be seen and it was wonderful. The older children - Jayanth, Bannappa and Suresh took initiative of taking the attendance of the children in my absence. They began to train the juniors, and they took charge of keeping the kit safely inside the room. The much awaited result came; Manjunath marched to the pre-quarter finals of the last state level ranking tournament in November. Bannappa and Suresh began to defeat every other mainstream child in the academy. They are now showing a fighting spirit - They are not ready to give up!!!


It was sheer exhilaration to see Suresh play a match against Akshay, a mainstream child. Both had won a set each 11-7, 8-11. The clincher was the final set and Suresh was far behind at 5-10. Akshay needed to score one more point to win the set and the Match. The way Suresh played from then, fills me with inspiration and admiration to this day. He played a phenomenal gritty game and bounced back to 12-10 to win the set and the Match !!


I feel very proud to be with these children. I know that if we spend some time with the children we can multiply the impact on their life. I am always inspired by them.


Watch the children play and Get Inspired !!!


TT sessions at Jayanagar, III rd block on every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. To attend the sessions or for more details, contact me @ 99800 21984


"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future" ~ John F. Kennedy

Bobbymon George, Program Coordinator
Dream A Dream
www.dreamadream.org

Water... Paper.. Color.. Glue.. Dreams !!!

A Volunteer with Dream A Dream's Creative Arts program - Sundeep Mylarapu shares his experiences.

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The moment you hear Dream – A – Dream it invokes a certain thought in my mind (if I have oneJ), it is the common attribute each and every individual of world possess. But “Dreaming” and “To Pursue a Dream” are poles apart. The bridges that can connect these two poles are Self Esteem, Determination and Goal to give back certain asset to society. This is what Dream – A – Dream is all about for me.


It’s a great feeling to volunteer the Creative Arts; it has given me the vital experience to know children more and at the same time I learned a lot too. My comfort zone in arts is mainly music, dance and theatre but working with Sarah (Volunteer) made me open up in drawing and painting as well. Her ideas were very innovative and she used to plan her sessions well. She was very interactive and used to answer all my queries. It is important to mention about Holly and Prasad (Volunteers), the involvement of Holly and enthusiasm of Prasad really excites me.


My experience with children was awesome. Ananya, Vishwas, Sukrupa and Makkala Jagriti all were great experiences. Knowing children and tackling them was real fun and joy. An important point that I would like to mention is something that I learnt and felt- “All children are the same and should be treated in similar way”. They might be from any background but they all have the same innocence and curiosity. Their antics and gestures are similar. We should never make children feel that they are left out. Accept every child the same way and we must be a positive force behind them so that they become the future of India and this world.


My final say to Dream – A – Dream team is “Cheers for your good work J” and best wishes for the road ahead.


To bring colours into the life of more children, be a part of the Creative Arts Sessions. For more details, Contact Kiran @ 99453 81030


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With Colorful Dreams and Heartfelt Thanks to Sundeep

Namrata Agarwal,
Volunteer Manager