Workshop for Auro Sakhis

Sarvam, The Integral Rural Village Development Programme has been regularly conducting training workshops for its coordinators and volunteers. These workshops have been very successful, as evidenced by the positive work carried out by coordinators.

To expand its workforce, this year (2022-2023), the Programme Auro Sakhi has been started as a new programme focusing on nutrition. This programme also concentrates on children, women and aged people. Apart from education, women empowerment & entrepreneurship, and caring for the aged people, its prime attention is on nutrition awareness for everyone.

SARVAM selected 20 Auro Sakhis from 10 hamlets as part-time volunteers as a first step. They were provided, along with the six coordinators, a workshop for three days, from May 12th to 14th, 2022, and the highlights of this workshop session stood as follows:

This training session provided the Auro Sakhis with a platform to think and discuss together various issues. The programme initiated the discussion by discussing the relevance of taking the initiative and harmony in thought and action. They discussed their different responses to particular situations, and they were trained to express their conclusions to these discussions through small skits.

The trainers discussed elementary topics about everyday life with them to enable them to be more confident and discerning. After the discussion, the Auro Sakhis gave their opinions on the issues discussed through a minute speech. The above activities were done through a play-way methodology for more significant impact and involvement.

Various plans of action were created through group discussions. This was an engaging and creative process for all of them. Another activity they were engaged in was to make them aware of the importance of body language in their being the instruments of change; this was taught again through simple games and mimes.

A successful leader can provide confident people management, and effective implementation of organizational practises, all while aiming to achieve community-wide developmental objectives and goals. This workshop allowed the team to learn about the direction, guidance, and motivation needed to excel in their assigned areas.

This targeted workshop also focused on leadership and team-building activities. It proved to be very effective in building confidence and supporting the team’s growth and development by providing situations where much-needed skills could be realized, developed, practised and enhanced. The outdoor games were followed by discussions to cement the lessons learned while playing the games. In all, the workshop was a great success in reinforcing the fundamentals of teamwork and leadership.

At the end of the session, the feedback from Auro Sakhis was very encouraging. They were excited about having made new friends from various hamlets, coming together, expressing their views and getting a chance to learn and express their ideas and plans for the community upliftment.