21Nov2024

FFEC: Equal Opportunities, Entitlements and Empowerment

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Foundation for Equal Citizenship

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Contacts

32/328 Trilokpuri  Road, Delhi 110091 
 info@foundationforequalcitizenship.org 

or equalcitizenship.com

+91 88007 59636
Author: Nishanthini
Home Articles Posted by Nishanthini
Education
August 9, 2022

IMPORTANCE OF STORYTELLING AND CREATIVE WRITING

In today’s world where text speak and emojis are so common, reading books and creative writing help to develop skills that are being forgotten. They trigger intellectual stimulation and imagination. Numerous benefits can be attained by encouraging them to read and write from a young age. It gives them confidence at an early age and molds them into powerful adults who can communicate their thoughts and feelings very clearly. 

Akbar, who grew up in Trilokpuri and runs Foundation for Equal Citizenship(FFEC)’s learning center, Kadam observed, “most kids come to our center from Ambedkar camp and are first generation students from underprivileged, often migrant families. Hence, it isn’t easy for them to have access to schools, colleges or any kind of educational materials. This makes it difficult for them to gain reading and writing skills which are critical for a growing child in order to become literate.” 

Each day kids experience new events. They learn new words that help build their vocabulary and these new experiences help them to develop a creative and curious mind. These new experiences help the child develop the ideas into stories or creative writing. 

“I was part of the Kahani program where I had to read out stories to around 10-12 children every Tuesday and Friday. The kids were very cooperative and friendly. My lessons were in dual-language mode, that is, the stories were in English (Ruskin Bond’s short stories) and I would try my best to explain and interpret them in Hindi as well. Questions were always encouraged in class and at the end of every class, I tried to use about 3-4 words that would be difficult for the kids to understand. I would write down the meanings for those words as it would help increase and improve their vocabulary”, says Jugtshen Tk Lama who interned at FFEC this summer. 

Jugtshen Tk Lama facilitating a story telling session at our learning centre, Kadam in Trilokpuri area of New Delhi.

Although FFEC’s focus has been more on improving reading skills so far through its Kahani project where young volunteers or interns conduct sessions with kids, it plans to incorporate creative writing going forward. Creative writing can help a child to communicate effectively in the tech savvy world. Writing helps a child to demonstrate its creative side, increases their ability to focus and improves their dedication and commitment. 

Creative writing helps develop creative thoughts using imagination, suggesting alternatives, and broadening their thought process and problem-solving abilities.  It is all about using one’s imagination and creativity to express ideas and thoughts in a way which is personal to oneself. In simple words, it’s about adding your own ‘flair’ to writing. It is a form of writing that goes beyond the traditional realms of normal, professional, academic or technical forms of writing which encompasses many different genres and styles across a whole range of fields of both fictional and non-fiction writing – prose, poetry, storytelling, playwriting, journalistic, and more. 

It helps children channel their emotions and teaches them how to handle a situation. It enables them to express how they feel and understand how others feel too.  If a child is unable to communicate effectively in childhood, the problem may become worse as they grow older. Exchanging ideas with others allows the child to develop their storyline and collaborate with others.

It also allows the child to express their opinions, raise their voice and also improves their logical skills. These are the fundamental skills that the child can apply in other areas of learning and succeed and it helps strengthen their self-confidence.

FFEC looks forward to more interns and volunteers who can help these kids improve their reading and writing skills in interesting ways!

By Nishanthini
IMG-20220702-WA0004
Women
July 13, 2022

Domestic Workers in Trilokpuri

Domestic Workers

Domestic workers are workers who work in or for a private household or households. They perform direct and indirect care services and are key members of the care economy. Their services may include cooking, washing, cleaning the house, ironing clothes, child care or taking care of the elderly or sick members of a family, safeguarding the house, driving, gardening and even pet sitting. A domestic worker may work full-time or part-time and may be employed by a single household, through or by a service provider. They may be living in the employer’s household (live-in worker) or may be residing in his or her own residence (live-out). A domestic worker working in another country is referred to as a migrant domestic worker.

Vulnerable Workers

According to statistics, there are 75.6 million domestic workers worldwide of which 76.2 percent are women, meaning that a quarter of domestic workers are men. There are many factors that lead women to enter domestic work. Women from poor background or disadvantaged communities do not have much employment opportunities and may face discrimination on the basis of gender, caste, class, race or ethnicity. Domestic work is a more important source of employment to female employees in contrast to male employees. Domestic workers rarely have access to rights and protection although they provide essential services. Around 81 percent of workers are employed in an informal manner, that is, twice the share of informal employment among other employees. They also work under strenuous working conditions. Domestic workers earn 56 percent of average monthly wages of other employees and are more likely than other workers to work for very long or short hours. They also face violence and harassment and restrictions on freedom of movement. Informal domestic workers are more vulnerable to such situations. There are many factors that cause women to enter domestic work. Women from poor background or backward communities are often provided with few employment opportunities and may undergo discrimination based on gender, caste, class, race or ethnicity.

Trilokpuri is a popular locality situated in New Delhi. Foundation For Equal Citizenship (FFEC) is located in Trilokpuri, East Delhi where a significant number of the population are domestic workers. Trilokpuri is sometimes referred as the “maid supplier of Delhi”. The maids work in Mayur Vihar housing societies.

Financial Responsibilities

According to a post covid news report, women employed as domestic workers often bear a disproportionate burden of not just unpaid work at their own homes, but also financial responsibilities. The survey states that as many as 51% workers had unemployed spouses and 36% were divorced, separated or widowed women.

About 17 organizations and unions in Delhi-NCR came together to form the Network of Rights and Voices of Domestic Workers and to ensure the safety and security of these women. Many other organizations and unions across the nation also held discussions with domestic workers to prepare a declaration of demands that called for a minimum money transfer to domestic workers under the National Disaster Management Act, global registration of employers and domestic workers, national legislation, an urban employment guarantee scheme and strengthening of local committees at the district level where workers can lodge complaints about workplace sexual harassment.

Plight of Women

In a focus group held on ‘Challenges of Working Women’ by FFEC, Nazia, a 40 year old domestic worker says, “My husband is an auto-driver. We live in Ambedkar camp, a jhuggi near Block 32 in Trilokpuri. We have 3 children and we had no income after covid hit. I leave for work around 7:30 am or 8 am and I leave my little daughter in the care of my mother in law. Once I found out that my brother in law touched my daughter inappropriately. My mother in law didn’t seem to care about it but my husband and I wanted to go to the police. However, we were scared of the repercussions”.

“I’ve been working in Mayur Vihar for more than 10 years now and I’ve had good experiences. The only thing is I’m worried about the safety of my children and my neighbors watch over them” says a domestic worker who wishes to be anonymous.

“I started working due to hardships during the lockdown,” says another woman. 

Conclusion

Foundation For Equal Citizenship (FFEC) has been providing rations to very poor families in the Trilokpuri Community. It is sad and horrifying to see the plight of women and children. At the same time, this sends out a message that it is high time we hold the abusers accountable and raise better men. We ought to make the world a better place for everyone. 

Nishanthini

By Nishanthini