Yellow shades with black and red strokes and bright colours of orange, green, ochre and blue splashed on papers made a huge canvas decorated on a wall of a small room on the first floor of a resource centre at Aranganur.
Standing in front of the hues of colours, a short dusky girl all of thirteen broke down pointing out to her work. Painted completely with brown shades, her work reflected the melancholic mood she was in.
“My teachers constantly tell me that I am going to fail in my examination,” she said, weeping inconsolably.
Hailing from an impoverished and troubled family in a slum in Puducherry, she finds it difficult to cope with the family problems and school.
Followed by her, fifteen-year old Aruna (name changed) stands up and explains why she chose colours.
With alcoholic parents unable to financially support their family, Aruna along with her sister struggle to complete their studies. “My parents constantly beat me and kick on my stomach. My elder brother was earning but eloped with a girl. I was forced to take up a job while I was studying in Class X,” she said.
But Sharana organisation came to my help. They not only convinced my parents to send me back to school but have consistently provided the emotional support that I was lacking at home.
“Every Saturday, I come to this resource centre. We play with colours and I feel happy. I even convinced my cousins to join this programme,” she says.
Sharana, Social and Development Organisation, works towards children’s empowerment and community development in Puducherry. Under the street and slum programmes, they organise art therapy for children from difficult backgrounds.
“We help children who have experienced sexual abuse, children of sex workers, single or alcoholic parents, street children with art therapy,” says Rajkala Partha, governing body founder president of Sharana.
She added that art therapy is a medium to help the children open up to the social workers.
“Initially, many children never touched the colours. Slowly they started using colours and expressing the problems they face through paintings. This helps the social workers to intervene and help resolve the problem,” she says.
Vandana Shah, chief coordinator, Sharana, says that the social workers regularly visit the slums and streets where the children work.
“They are in touch with the families of these children. The children are allowed to paint without any restrictions. This art therapy helps identify the problem and address it,” she says.
There are at least eight social workers working with these children.
The organisation works in seven slums in Puducherry like Kan Doctor Thottam, Didir Nagar, Periyar Nagar, Govinda Salai, Solainagar, Vanarpet and Athipatti.
They organise art therapy for children even in Gayathri House on Bharathi Street as well.
There are 41 children between the age group of two and four years, 49 children between four and six years of age and 90 children between seven to 16 years old, who seek help from this organisation.
Every Saturday, I come to this resource centre. We play with colours and I feel happy
Aruna
A fifteen-year-old girl
