“We don’t need convincing of the impact of the techniques but I am still touched when I hear the personal stories and when I am asked to perform more training so others can keep making an impact in their community.” - Agyat Shunya, Play for Peace trainer
Play for Peace trainers Swati Bhatt and Agyat Shunya have worked with many organizations to teach them how to use play as a tool to bring people and communities together. One such organization is the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) which for decades has trained thousands in urban governance and urban services delivery. The organization is also active in the communities with field staff trained in Play for Peace techniques to work with children in urban slums and rural tribes. In a recent conversation with Srinivas Indapurkar, Program Director at AIILSG, these are some of the impact stories from the Play for Peace sessions:
One mother started crying in a parent's meeting because her daughter used to be shy, and withdrawn and would not talk. After the daughter started participating in Play for Peace, she transformed. She now sings songs, attends school regularly, and has gained much confidence.
Many ethnic identities live in an urban slum in Pune including Baloch-Iranians, some of whom are known to be involved in criminal activities including the distribution of illegal drugs. When AIILSG started working in the community many parents refused to have their children in the same space as the children from the Baloch-Iranian community. However, once they started Play for Peace sessions, all the children started playing together. Now parents who did not see eye-to-eye engage with one another and talk about how well their children are doing.
A woman in a tribal rural community conducts Play for Peace sessions in the evening hours, by which time many of the men in the community are intoxicated. When asked if she feared for her and the children’s safety, she gave one important reason why she was not concerned. The men know that something good is happening with their children and they will not interfere with her work.
Children of a Gopal nomadic tribe work long days collecting garbage. After Play for Peace started in their community, the children now make sure that they leave their work to attend Practice Peace Sessions (PPS).
In another tribal rural community, some of the children used to run away whenever someone tried to take them to school. When some of the AIILSG staff started conducting PPS, the children slowly became regular attendees of the sessions which provided the opportunity to engage in discussions and now some have even started attending school.
Sriniwas says that all the staff who have attended the Play for Peace training give credit for the individual changes and the relationships in communities to the first bonding experience they were able to create with Play for Peace techniques. He also says that another significant impact has been how boys and girls have started playing together, which would not have happened earlier.
The impact of Play for Peace has been so striking that the AIILSG staff have requested a second Play for Peace training. “In our 15 years of working with Play for Peace, Swati and I have seen many transformations," says Agyat. “We don’t need convincing of the impact of the techniques but I am still touched when I hear the personal stories and when I am asked to perform more training so others can keep making an impact in their community.”
