Community Programs

Children

Children’s Programme focuses on the capacity building and perspective building of children, through educational and recreational services and promoting healthy interaction between children of different communities which will lead to creating lasting bonds of friendship between children of different communities. In collaboration with various government and private institutions, the Program will facilitate awareness sessions on issues like environment, traffic safety, nutrition and personality development. It is endeavored to achieve a 100% enrollment rate in schools, create a child friendly society where children have due voice and participation in the societal processes and where children of different communities live harmoniously.

Besides providing supplementary extra-curricular and co-curricular inputs, the Children’s Program aims to promote a spirit of social service and activism and a serious attitude towards issues of social justice and rights. It is envisaged that these children will by and by take more active part in the development of their community. Conscious efforts will be made to build dynamic relations between communities and the neighbourhood schools.

The member schools of the Children’s Program will be the platforms for imparting the necessary conscientisation. Children’s Program also addresses the issues of better pedagogical practices by providing training to teachers and involving them in the quality building processes in schools.

Goal:

Develop personality and values of harmony, equality and social justice among the school children of the south city of Hyderabad.

Objectives:

• To promote general awareness and inculcate values of Peace, Harmony & Social justice among 60,000 students of south city of Hyderabad in a year.
• To provide avenues for personality development and capacity building of students from the deprived sections in the south city of Hyderabad for 2000 students in a year
• To motivate the students of 15 schools to work for the overall development of their surrounding community.
• To transform the department into an independent organization and make it financially and managerially self-supporting and independent of COVA.

Programmes:

1. Awareness Sessions
2. Plays (Koshish Theatre Group)
3. Joint Celebrations
4. Science Exhibition
5. Project Work
6. Collaboration with other NGO’s / Institutions.
7. Para Education
8. Schools for Community service
9. Social Work in Community
10. Bal Adalat (Jury of children)
11. Resource mobilisation through membership fees and charges for services Organisational Development (OD) and

Management Trainings

• Weekly management and OD training for senior staff members
• Monthly training for junior staff members.

Addl. Activities:

1. Competitions (Arts & Literary)
2. Children’s Carnival
3. Exposure visits.
4. Workshop /Trainings for teachers
5. School Magazine
6. Teachers’ data bank.

Indicators

• Increased interactions between children of different communities
• Improved access for children to educational and recreational services
• Improvement in academic and extra-curricular performance of children
• Increased participation of children to address issues that concern them.
• Increase in enrollment of children in schools
• Improvement in retention of children in schools.

Youth

Youth TRAC (Youth Training Resource and Activity Centre)

Goal:

Empower youth to enable them to secure their rights, strive for social justice for all marginalized sections of the society and play a proactive role in maintaining communal and social harmony

Strategy:

COVA seeks to bring together youth from different communities, channelise their energies for productive endeavors, educate youth in ways of securing a livelihood and create a committed force of well informed community leaders who are sensitive to and proactive in addressing the issues of the community – especially communal harmony, gender, environment and issues of children.

Youth TRAC

Youth TRAC (Youth Training Resource and Activity Center) is a network of youth associations / clubs / groups and individuals involved in community development and actions for social change.

Activities:

• Facilitation of College Clubs for perspective building of student youth
• Facilitation of Sports Clubs and Gym Clubs for perspective building of youth
• Lectures and Seminars on communal harmony, intercommunity relations, peace and other social issues.
• Joint Celebrations of Festivals to generate understanding and respect for other religions and cultures.
• Youth groups conduct summer Camps every year during the summer vacations for school going as well as out of school children. Part of the resources are raised locally.
• Thematic Talks / video shows (like communal harmony, legal, medical awareness, self employment, career guidance etc.) are held regularly. Celebrations of important national and socially relevant days are organized.
• Career Counselling and facilitation of employment-oriented training in collaboration with Satyam Foundation, Dr Reddy’s Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and District Youth Welfare Office.

Koshish Theatre Group

Koshish Theatre Group was born out of a month long theatre workshop conducted in May 2000 which brought together about 30 enthusiastic youngsters from diverse backgrounds and communities. The group consists of young people in the age group 10 years to 20 years. Some of them are students while others have just started their careers.

Koshish performs street plays on various social themes. They participate in various programmes/campaigns conducted by COVA and other organisations. The group performs plays written by noted playwrights as well as composes own plays on different social themes. Notable among the plays performed by Koshish is a street play on communalism, Sabse Sastha Goshth, written by the famous playwright Asghar Wajahat and a mime on National Integration which was composed by the Koshish Group itself.

Major Milestones:

• Youth Recreation Centres in 8 areas of the old city
• SSC Coaching Centre at Nawab Sahab Kunta (130 students benefit)
• Youth TRAC formed in 2001
• 67 youth trained in Videography
• Adult Literacy Centres benefit 75 men and 105 women
• Felicitation of Saviours of Hyderabad
• Play for Peace covers 950 students in10 areas with 30 Youth facilitators
• Participation in Asian Social Forum in 2003.
• Bal Mela – 2005
• Body Building Competitions for Harmony
• Initiated College Clubs, Gym Clubs and Linkage with Satyam Computers in 2004
• Vocational training facilitated in collaboration with District Youth Welfare Office, Dr Reddy’s Foundation and GMR Varalakshmi Foundation.