Activities
26. April 2010
Participants of the swimming training in Mumbai
Archana Kapoor, Edit Schlaffer and Vinita Kamte (f.l.t.r.) with a group of mothers in Mumbai
Empowerment workshop "Our Stories, Our Future”
SAVE India – Our Stories, Our Future
An empowerment workshop for victims and family members of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai
On April 26, 2010, SAVE India launched two workshops for the wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers of the police constables who courageously protected lives during the 26/11 attacks. “Our Stories, Our Future” is a weeklong empowerment workshop that uses “Storytelling” as a tool to begin articulating personal encounters and to make the lived experiences of those impacted by violent extremism heard. Through the accompanying workshop “Swimming into the Future,” SAVE aims not only to provide a new skill, but also to create a bond between the participants. Swimming is conducive to confidence building and helps participants to feel comfortable with their own bodies.
The workshops took off with a group of 65 mothers and children, ranging in age from 9 to 70. The storytelling workshop began with partipants introducing themselves to the rest of the group and explaining the meaning behind their names. Trainer Anne Carr, a dialogue practitioner from Northern Ireland, believes that although we do not choose our own name, it says a lot about our personality. It was surprising to see that many of the participants did not know the meaning of their names; this was the beginning of their exploration of a new identity. During the two-hour exercise, the bonding had begun. Everyday items such as rangoli colors and beads were used as innovative tools to understand oneself and others.
Jyoti, wife of Inspector Vilas Joshi, said that it was the first time that she had been given an opportunity to reflect and talk about herself. Gori, Urmila, and Surekha felt that the workshop had helped them to recognize for the first time their potential to make a difference in their own lives. “The responses and reactions of this workshop will set the ground for a global campaign, Mothers for Change!, that will travel from here to Pakistan, from Pakistan to Yemen, and from Yemen to Indonesia,” said Dr. Edit Schlaffer, founder of SAVE.
Children are often ignored in the process of dealing with violent extremism. Elaine Hargrove, from SAVE Global, used creative media to help the children release their emotions. Their drawings provided an eye-opening insight into what they were going through. The excitement of the children was difficult to contain.
Over the course of the next four days, the women will be able to use this platform to break the silence that frequently follows in the wake of a tragedy. The women have been asked to bring with them something from the past that has affected them greatly.
Archana Kapoor, president of SAVE India, expressed her confidence that this is the beginning of a long journey. This workshop may be a baby step in the process, but it is a giant leap in the right direction.
