Situational Assessment of Youth and Participant Feedback for Dharavi

Community Center

Before constructing our design thinking curriculum, we interviewed a handful of children at The Dharavi Project

community center to get an idea of their daily lives and personal interests. We asked simple questions about their

age, parents’ work, future aspirations, academic interests, and what they like to do for fun. We tried to ask the older

children more in­depth questions about what they would like to see more of at the center, but the question either

confused them or they could not think of something they would like to add to what is offered by the center. We

realized that, for the majority of these children, the community center generally offers more resources than they have

ever had access to, so therefore they might not be able to imagine what was missing due to lack of reference.

One key takeaway from these interviews was that these kids crave opportunities to be creative, and do not let

circumstances stunt big dreams. Many expressed interest in doing more activities with drums and drama. The

interest in drama may be attributed in part to proximity to Bollywood, as well as a lack of opportunity to be creative

and imaginative in school. Upon further interviews with Vinod Shetty, founder of The Dharavi Project, we found

that the kids are learning very little about the world around them, so they are thirsty for knowledge not available to

them in the classroom. Because of their eagerness, Vinod says, the information really “sticks” when they have the

proper opportunities to learn.

The following are some highlights and key takeaways from our interviews.

Ayesha, 9 years old.

She likes to study, draw and learn about computers. In the future she would like to become an engineer. Her dad is a

dentist and her mother is a stay at home mom. She enjoys being at the Dharavi community center because she can

practice the computer skills that will help her in her dream to be an engineer. For fun, she likes to play football and

music, so she would love it if drum practices were incorporated into the center.

Observation: Ayesha was one of the outliers of the group. She is a 9­year­old girl who was able to articulate her

ideas and hold a conversation in English. Moreover, her understanding of English allowed her to translate what we

were saying to her peers and fairly effectively explain them the different directions for the activities. She was very

active during the activities and always willing and excited to answer questions.

Eraf, 14 years old

He wants to be an engineer when he grows up. His father works in Dharavi making backpacks, and his mother is a

housewife. When asked what he thought was the most important thing he learns at the community center, he said

that English, math, and computer skills were all equally essential to achieving his dreams. He also enjoys going to

the center because of the weekly football matches in a nearby lay area.

Observation: Similar to the majority of the children, Eraf was a very quiet child with a low level of speaking

ability. Despite his shyness, he was still always willing to participate in the activities and do the best that he could.

Eraf was attracted to the center as a place to play but also to supplement his education, as he was aware that he

needed many skills in order to accomplish his professional goals.

Abusofiyan, 15 years old.

His nickname is Serou, meaning ‘lion’. His favorite subject is science. His father owns a tailor house and his mother

is a stay at home mom. In the future, he wants to be a doctor. For fun, he likes to play the Indian game co­co.

Observation: Abusofiyan was the eldest of the group. His English speaking ability was the best observed in the

group, which allowed him to translate our words to his peers and communicate their answers to us. He was very

engaged in the interview we had, willing to tell us more about his life and was especially active during our first

activity for which they had to draw a regular day for them in Dharavi.

Muskan, 9 years old.

She enjoys coming to the center because it is a play where they can get creative and let loose. She likes to draw and

play, and in the future, she would like to be a teacher. Her father is a hairdresser and her mother is a stay at home

mom, and she has 1 brother and 3 sisters. She likes drama and acting.

Observation: Muskan was a very distinguished child among the group and was very engage in the different

activities we have done during the course of the week. Although her English speaking ability was very low, thanks

to the translators, it was easier to communicate with her.

Shahbaj Hussain, 13 years old

He likes coming to the center to read books and play games. He says there is not room to play in his house, so the

center provides a space to have fun. His father is a tailor and his mother helps run the business. He says that he

thinks the center helps children “achieve their goals” when they otherwise would not have the tools to do so. He

wants to join the Indian police so he can help people.

Observation: Shahbaj, like the other kids, was shy and bashful, smiling often. We were encouraged to see that

Shahbaj recognized that as a police officer, he could use his position of power to help others and enforce justice.

Parent Interviews:

During the first day, we were able to interview 4 mothers from the center. We went to their homes with the guidance

of the children and ask them for their insights and impressions in regards to the center. The first observation that we

can draw from those interviews is that the closer the homes of the children were to the center, the more personally

involved in the center the mothers were. For instance, the second mother we interviewed lived very closed to the

center. She usually goes to the center with her children and stays there with them. On the other hand, parents that

lived further away from the center were more hands­off. Nevertheless, when asked why they chose to send their

children to the center, the responses were uniform in nature. For them, the center is an important source of help and

support for their children, giving them the tools and attention they need for a better future, unlike the schools they

currently attend. The parents were very articulate about the importance of the center in teaching their children basic

computer skills, which are increasingly an essential prerequisite to finding employment, as most correspondence

between employers and potential employees now takes place over the web.

Translators:

The interactions we had with the children during the week were interesting and valuable for our research, with some

variation according to the translator of the day. Rohit, our first translator with a background in engineering and

social development studies, helped us during the initial interviews with the children and parents. Based on the length

of their responses compared to the length of the translation, though, the main sentiment shared by our group was that

the translator generalized the answers and may have left out some valuable information for us. In a similar vein, our

second translator, Anwar, also with a background in engineering, was helpful to us in reading a children’s book, but

some information was lost in translation on our third day of field testing. We attempted to have the kids act out the

story they had just heard, but there was much confusion on what we were asking and the activity fell through.

We tested the same drama module the following day with a third translator, Garima, who has a background in

volunteering in the educational sector. She was a tremendous help for us. Not only did she translate the readings

from our various activities, but she also emphasized the key words in both English and Hindi, ensuring that the kids

understood and remembered them. In general, the presence of all three translators were extremely valuable; they not

only helped us communicate with the kids, but also gave an idea of what we would expect a teacher or volunteer to

do with the modules we have designed. One important takeaway from this experience is that the facilitator should

ideally be trained in education in order to engage with the students and help them think critically. Realistically this

will not be the case, so we have constructed our curriculum outline and instructor guide in a comprehensive manner

such that any teacher or volunteer can facilitate clearly.

Modules:

After each module (prototype) test at the center, we asked the children general questions about the activities such as:

Did you like the activity? Have you learned anything new? Do you like this new way of learning? The answers were

unanimously positive, as the activity combined fun, creativity and skills learning at the same time. They were all

enthused at the announcement of each module, and always asked at the end of each day whether we would be

returning with new activities tomorrow. We observed that the children successfully completed the simplest module,

Module 1, after hearing our instructions through the translator. The children were read Malala Yousafzai: Warrior

With Words, a children’s book telling the story of how Malala defied the Taliban and overcame oppression to

advocate for all children’s right to an education. Though it is our eventual hope that these modules be completed

semi­independently by the children with some assistance from the instructor, we found it necessary to walk through

each step of the module with the children, as they were unaccustomed to these types of learning activities. Through

this module we have discovered many talents, as the children were able to translate what the story was about into

beautiful drawings. In addition, when asked a series of reflection questions, the children were able to show

understanding of why Malala put her life at risk to fight for justice, saying education is important to “better your

future” and “improve your mind.”

In our first test for Module 2 we experienced some difficulties, as it was the first time that the children were asked to

act out a story that they just had read. The children were read a storybook called Fledolin Upside Down by Antje

Damm about a right­side­up bat that appears to be upside down by his peers. Even though some of them were shy,

and a little bit lost in the instructions, all of the children participated and did the best they could to to perform in

front of the class. We have to keep in mind that this activity was new to the children and done in less than an hour,

so it is understandable that some children had a hard time completing the activity. We returned the following day

with a new book and plan for helping the children understand how to execute the activity and learn from it.

In the second and final test of Module 2, children were read a short picture book about butterflies called A Butterfly

is Patient by Diana Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long. We thought that this would incorporate the children’s displayed

interest in science with simple language and easy to understand concepts. After they had been read the book they

were not only able to recall simple facts, such as “the butterfly is poisonous” or “the butterfly travels long

distances,” but also minute details such as “the smallest butterfly lives in Afghanistan and is called the Small Arian

Blue” and “the butterfly smells with its antennae and tastes with its feet.” We were encouraged by how this

exhibited the children’s attunement to the lesson and interest in the subject. We found this as an affirmation of

Vinod’s statement that when the children are actually given access to knowledge, it sticks in their minds. With some

help from group members, the children acted out the lifecycle of the butterfly, and as a result could recite the names

of each stage in the cycle (egg, caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly) as well as different butterfly facts. The children

appeared to greatly enjoy the opportunity to be silly and expressive while also memorizing new information. They

were enthusiastic about showing that they had learned, shouting out different factoids when asked what new things

they had learned.

Overall, the impressions we got from testing the different modules we designed were very positive and showed

much promise for being implemented in the future, with some necessary adaptations to each child’s unique needs

based on age and skill level. We believe that the children are ready to embrace this new way of learning through

reading, drawing, acting, and participating in activities designed for them.