A First-Hand Experience at Snehagram

    



     As a part of the Spandan Project, the Department of Psychology has a team of about 20 volunteers. This includes students from both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. They are guided by the faculty coordinators, Dr Sudhesh N. T and Dr Sreenath K.

    Every month, a group with a maximum of 10 students, accompanied by the faculty, conduct a visit to the Snehagram facility during a weekend. The lush-green and serene facility is located in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.

    The primary objective of the team is to imbibe their knowledge in the field of psychology in the best possible manner to help the HIV+ adolescents in Snehagram improve their quality of life. There are two main spheres here that are focused on:

    Firstly, for their schooling, the children follow the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) syllabus. As part of their academic curriculum, psychology is a subject that is learnt by students of both classes 10th and 12th for their board examinations. The children often find it difficult to focus their attention, grasp concepts, memorise and reproduce these facts while answering examinations. As volunteers and fellow students of psychology, we help them to overcome these difficulties. We use psychological interventions to help them break down and better understand and remember these concepts. We prepare modules that simplify the chapters in their syllabus. We also conduct and evaluate tests to check their progress while fine-tuning their answers and presentation skills. 


    Secondly, for those children who are not in either 10th or 12th, no academic syllabus is followed. For them, we mainly focus on life-skills interventions. We conduct sessions and activities for them which revolves around themes like empathy, teamwork and so on. The postgraduate students also conduct a simulation of group counselling sessions which provide a safe space for the children to voice out their problems, feelings and anything else that they would like to address. 


    We also conduct fun activities like quizzes and games to engage all the students, especially to give the students a break from studying. This allows them to improve their knowledge in other spheres like general knowledge, current affairs and more. In addition to these student-led programmes, the professors also conduct sessions for the children. They lead the students during activities like meditation which propagate mindfulness and relaxation. 


    As volunteers, these visits were something we always eagerly looked forward to. Directly interacting with the children provided us with an oasis of learning and personal knowledge. We learnt how to be patient and cautious while we interacted with them. We constantly challenged ourselves to find more ways to assist them in their education and general lifestyle. 

    

    These visits recharged us thoroughly. They allowed us to escape from our busy urban life and spend time in the midst of nature’s tranquillity. Most importantly, we always left Snehagram with a feeling of content and immeasurable satisfaction which was the most rewarding part of the experience. 

- Sarah Sosa Binoy,

CHRIST (Deemed to be University)

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