A hundred kids ranging from 9 years to 14 years in their school uniform and shoes with neatly combed hair all sitting quietly in a classroom on a Thursday morning is not unusual. But it is when this happens during their summer break. No ones complaining; in fact they were all eagerly waiting to see why they were asked by their principal to show up during their break. From some of their tired little faces you could see they had not had breakfast and were lethargic.
Kallaru Tamil Vidyalam is a relatively large school that is one of the lucky ones in the area to get a new school building with good amenities and including a generator (as there is no electricity in the area). The community is dependent on agriculture (on an arid land) with no electricity and very little access to water. They were also one the areas that suffered repeatedly during the war and now even after rehabilitation they still reel from loss of family members, disability and poverty due to lack of jobs.
On this Thursday morning as the kids sat wondering why they were called, suddenly colorful boxes and blocks appeared and the kids were asked to group around with their friends. The quiet room started buzzing and within seconds hit a crescendo with big smiles and potent energy. Lot of confusion and frustration at first as they had never seen a puzzle before and were not sure how to piece them together. But with a little guidance from our little volunteers the kids quickly caught on and were cheering on each other as they completed their little masterpieces. For two hours they pieced together puzzles and built their little imaginary world with legos. Fourteen year olds were equally as excited as the 9 year olds as they had never seen a toy before.
It was past 1pm and even hunger and fatigue were not reducing their enthusiasm. When lunch arrived, toys were reluctantly packed away with the promise they will get more opportunities to ‘just play’.
As we focus on building their future through education and teaching them values, may be a focus on recreation through play and reading will let kids be kids and grow up to be responsible, empathetic and wholesome adults.
