For students looking to gain some much needed
experience and set themselves apart, an internship at Colorss Foundation is the
perfect solution. Colorss Foundation provides the opportunity for students of
all backgrounds to gain some invaluable experience, while also contributing to
a fantastic cause.
Colorss Foundation is a non-profit organization,
which aims to improve the lives of underprivileged children living in India,
and help them break free from the vicious cycle of poverty. What’s unique about
the Colorss Foundation is their innovative approach. The company uses a blend
of art, sport and technology, to give these children much needed life skills
and enhance their self-esteem and confidence. The goal of the organisation is
to empower these children to go on and make a positive impact in the world on
their own terms.
To continue this amazing work, Colorss is
reliant on the contribution of volunteers, through a variety of internships. Internships
are not just limited to social work students, but are available to students
from a wide range of business, science, art and engineering backgrounds. The
organisation has achieved outstanding results over its short history and had
been able to benefit many disadvantaged children. However, Colorss requires the
assistance of skilled volunteers to continue this success and help the company
grow and benefit a greater number of children.
This rare opportunity will not only make your CV
stand out, but will also give you the chance to make a positive impact on
society and greatly influence the lives of many underprivileged children. This
experience will undoubtedly give you an abundance of
unforgettable memories and the skills to achieve your personal and professional
goals. Contact Colorss Foundation today, to see how you can contribute to this
great cause.
Internship opportunities are available at Colorss. Students can apply for internship along with their detailed resume. Opportunities for MSW / BSW students to get on-the-job training. It's just not limited to social work students - we are accepting students from media, communication, engineering, management, art-n-craft, fine-arts, NID, NIIT and more... Feel free to drop an email with your resume and make an inquiry. - emailcolorss@gmail.com | www.facebook.com/colorssfoundation | http://colorss.org For Love, Anand
Risachi - It is the
research wing of Colorss Foundation, recently formed in early July 2012. Dr. Pavithra Rajan (physiotherapist) is heading the Risachi wing at Colorss Foundation.
Dr. Pavithra is a physiotherapist from Mumbai, India. She worked as a
clinical physiotherapist for close to two years in India, after which she went
to Canada in 2008 to pursue her Master of Science in Kinesiology- specialization
in gerontology and community based rehabilitation. She has been working in the
field of community physical therapy, education and research for the past 7
years, in India as well as Canada. She is currently involved in many projects
through United Nations Online Volunteering Program, on international projects from
over 12 countries. She is especially interested in community based
rehabilitation/research, orthopedic and musculoskeletal
rehabilitation/research.
Risachi team consists of Dr. Pavithra Rajan - Principal Investigator Mr. Anand Koti - Research Co-ordinator Data Collection team - Vadodara, Gujarat - Ms Ankita Bhagwat and Ms Shreya Hiryur Pune, Maharashtra - Ms Stuti Prasad and Ms Rachita Kapoor.
Despite its recent inception, Risachi has successfully completed one major survey study involving 62 subjects and has three other major projects in different phases. The outcome of the research will involve designing novel strategies to improve the health of the underprivileged population.
We also undertake research projects.. you can reach us: contact@colorss.org | emailcolorss@gmail.com
Reducing the number of school drop outs,
brightening children’s lives with martial and creative arts, and teaching
skills to poor women: some actions have a great potential of change. This is
what Colorss Foundation believes in. This is what we do: use knowledge to
transmit knowledge. Colorss Foundation
has been operational since
Sep 2008 having its presence in Baroda, Gujarat and
Pune, Maharashtra.
By developing programs to improve disadvantaged
groups’ lives, Colorss Foundation is doing its part.
1.Project Enhance – 110 girls [Pune]
Underprivileged
children face stress in many aspects of their lives: family, academics, health,
and more. The situation is often worse in female children; because of social
stigma, girls tend to be seen as inferior or even neglected, which leaves them
with a sense of worthlessness and low self-esteem. The truth is, however, that
they deserve much more than this.
How can we brighten
these children’s lives? How can we empower these girls and foster their
confidence? Thinking about this, Colorss Foundation has developed a program
called Enhance. This project uses the benefits that Karate and Creative arts
bring to reach a better life for these kids.
2.Project ‘Colors of Life’ – 100 students [boys
and girls – Pune, Baroda]
Observing government
schools in India, we can face a bad reality: 50% of students drop out of school
before the 8th standard. This is very worrying when we think about the
importance of education, a key for the development of individuals and of the
society. And this is the point when creating a program like Colors of Life. How
this can be done? The students are given topics for creative writing –they are
either encouraged to write in Marathi, Gujarati or Hindi. These topics are
thereafter translated into English and published as an E-zine.
The program works with
brain stimulation games, workshops on life-skills and different issues, drawing,
music and dance, creative arts, and PBL (project based learning) too.
3.Project 'UrjAa' – igniting the fire within – 15 women in
vocational training [Baroda]
Helping on the
development of children is very important. However, we do not work just with
children: Project UrjAa that attends to disadvantaged women is important as
well. It intends to break the vicious cycle of poverty, in which these women do not have access to training
and resources and, consequently, have little or no education. Then, they stay
in poverty, and the same thing keeps happening.
Only education can solve this
problem. The children of their families are provided with needful education.
Different workshops are conducted for these women and their families. Building
up these women current skills and introducing new skills, we can empower them
and impact positively their families. This is the basis of Project UrjAa:
professionals, peers, community, awareness programs, and mentorships teach
vocational skills to a group of women from the slums of Sanjay Nagar, New Sama
Road, Baroda.
4.Risachi - It is the research wing of Colorss
Foundation, recently formed in early July 2012. Despite its recent inception,
Risachi has successfully completed one major survey study involving 62 subjects
and has three other major projects in different phases. The outcome of the
research will involve designing novel strategies to improve the health of the
underprivileged population.
5.Aircel a+ a CSR initiative in partnership with
Colorss Foundation – 480 students [Pune,
Maharashtra State]
480 students are in a+
Center in Pune. This is an Aircel CSR initiative to help bridge the digital
divide in India. The initiative will help empower underprivileged children and
adolescents with computer literacy and vocational training and provide them
with employability skills.
The original plan for the class on 21st July 2012 in Navprerna was to show the children the e-magazine on the internet but due to some technical error we were unable to do so.
We then decided to do some simple speed math using flashcards.We divided the class of 18 (11 boys and 7 girls) into two equal groups. Each of us separately conducted the activity with one group. We started by explaining the rules of the game - each card will not be shown for more than 2 seconds and the students had to write only the answers in their books. For the first round, we decided to keep it simple, thus we started with just 10 questions/cards. We used cards for addition and subtraction only. Then we conducted two more rounds of 10 questions each.We noticed that the performance on the whole was not bad.
Some students did very well, like Kajal Chauhan and Rita Katara who scored 30/30.
Others made mistakes in reading the signs (whether it was + or-) or they would not notice where the blank was, whether it was in the question or answer. For example in the question 9+_ =15, they would write 24 as the answer rather than 6, i.e. they would simply add up all the numbers they could see on the card. A few of them often did not look at the card and missed the question. Their concepts of addition and subtraction are quite clear, but they either lack confidence or do not pay enough attention to the question.We will probably conduct a similar exercise again also including questions on multiplication and division.
Conducted by Ankita Bhagwat and Shreya Hiryur [Baroda Team]
Anand
Koti, founder of Colorss with more than 15 years of martial arts training, a
second-degree black belt, and a passion for using his talent to help others
reach their potential has come up with this project.
Project Enhance uses a combination
of sports (Martial Arts) and creative arts as vehicles to promote both the
physical and mental well-being of underprivileged children in India. Good
mental health is not just the absence of a mental disorder; it is a state of
well-being where an individual feels confident and ready to cope with the
stresses that life sometimes presents.
In India, young girls are viewed as
inconsequential, often ignored, or even harassed and molested. Project Enhance
aims to empower young girls and boost their self-confidence through a blend of karate
and creative arts in hopes that they can one day become educated, productive,
and active members in their communities and society.
Objectives:
-Empower young
girls
-Promote mental and physical health
-Foster a sense
trust, cooperation, confidence, and community
-Encourage values
of discipline and responsibility
Students undergoing self-defense techniques under project enhance.. Demonstrating the techniques with our volunteer/inter Neha Shaw (Symbiosis Law School, Pune)
How Can Martial Arts Help?
The art of karate involves
integrating the mind and body to condition the physique and enhance
self-awareness. When the muscles and brain act in perfect unison, a sense of
discipline, mindfulness, and serenity are set in play. Thus, learning to
control each movement in a fluid and adaptable fashion produces benefits that
outlast practice sessions. Research has shown that karate is associated with
positive changes in mood, as well as reductions in anxiety and depression.
Sensi Pervez Mistry, the father of modern martial arts
in India, noted: “Karate is generally perceived as a destructive sport. This is
a misconception. In fact, the reverse is true. With karate, we can work towards
improving health. A willingness and desire to be a better person is developed
and self-confidence is built while ego is dampened.”
In
fact, martial arts promote both mental and physical health and enforce values
such as respect for others, faithfulness, and tranquility, and sincerity. When
these qualities act in unison, they can induce relaxation and increase
self-confidence. Additionally, many studies have championed the cognitive and
behavioral benefits of martial arts. Improvements in self-esteem (Fuller,
1988), positive receptiveness of physical challenges (Richard and Rehberg,
1986; Trulson, 1986), greater autonomy (Duthie, 1978), emotional stability and
assertiveness (Konzak and Boudreau, 1984) and reductions in anxiety and
depression (Cai, 2000) have all been associated with martial arts training.
To
sum it up, Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, once said, “The
ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of
the character of its participants.”
Sensi Mistry speaks about Anand
Sensi Pervez Mistry is considered to be the father of
martial arts in India.
He has been the Chief Instructor for the International Okinawa
Goju-RyuKarate-do Federation in India
for the past 46 years and is the founder of Karate-do in India.
“Karate is generally perceived as a destructive sport.
This is a misconception. In fact, the reverse is true. With karate, we can work
towards improving health. A willingness and desire to be a better person is
developed and self-confidence is built while ego is dampened. When Anand met me
a few years ago, he was worried whether or not we would be able to manage the
program. I was confident from day one that he would succeed. He has struggled and faced hurdles, but he
has conquered all of them, in part from the confidence he has gained from
martial arts training.
How Can Creative Arts Help?
Creativity
and art help reinforce elements of martial arts training, further helping
children develop and retain their learned skills. Though its task-based
instruction and demanded attention to detail, art cultivates a sense of
responsibility, hand-eye coordination, and controlled motor skills.
Furthermore, selecting materials and tools, focusing on creating a work of art,
and ultimately finishing a project fosters a sense of achievement as well as
enhances cognitive skills, decision making skills, and discipline. Furthermore,
to maintain and develop awareness of different methods of mind and body
control, games, meditation, and dance are incorporated into each creative arts
session.
Current Status and Project Structure:
Project Enhance currently focuses on
helping 110 girls from two schools
·Fifty five girls
from 5th, 6th, and 7th grade girls from
Mahadji Shinde High School, a municipality school under Pune Cantonment Board.
· Fifty three girls from 6th, 7th,
8th and 9th grade girls from Dr. Ambedkar Memorial
School, a municipality school under Pune Cantonment Board.
It consists of 1 hour sessions, twice a week, with 30
minutes of martial arts training and 30 minutes of creative arts. Each martial
arts session is a mixture of exercise and meditation. These sessions aim to
relax the body muscles and gradually build flexibility and stamina. Each
creative arts session includes various exercises in drawing, sketching,
dancing, music, acting, brain-stimulation games and story-telling.
Based on child progress, the program introduces longer
and higher levels of martial arts and creative arts sessions. Thus, the
contents of each session change along with the children’s progress in order to
keep challenging and encouraging each child to reach his or her full potential.
Finally, a counseling component is integrated into the
program. Professionals work with the children not only to provide a support
system, but also to motivate them to succeed, improve communication skills,
discuss future careers, and teach them about socially acceptable behavior.
Quote from participant:
I feel very peaceful after joining the karate project.
Our teacher is a very cool person and karate benefits us and gives us physical
exercise. Karate also helps us develop a better memory and gives physical
flexibility to our bodies. There are so many benefits of karate.
How can you contribute?
Volunteer:
Volunteers are our greatest asset. You can contribute
by volunteering to conduct workshops in various media of creative and performing
arts, such as drawing, counseling, painting, dance, personality development, brain-stimulation
games and creative writing. Any other forms of creative art are welcomed as
well!
Definitely you can…I saw and learnt this from these small kids who although came from a weak socioeconomic background, often separated families still had a smile on their faces and zeal to learn and change the way their life was.
While they were introducing themselves I noticed that they had family problems, e. g death of a parent or separated families. Most of the mothers worked in other houses doing the household chores to earn a living or fathers worked in factories or buildings as laborers.
It was an urge to teach small children which made me to join Colorss as a volunteer. My task which seemed to be very easy to me initially turned out to be a challenge for me. I was supposed to take a 45 min class, making children of class 6-9 standard write articles on a few topics.
I started with an article on My Ambition, where I had not only to explain the meaning of ambition to children but also had to assist each of them in framing sentences ,making them spell every word properly and translating their thoughts from Hindi to English. This took 30 min for me and there was hardly any time left for any other activity. It was a kind of surprise for me to see children of 8th grade unable to spell “will” “have” “doctor” “because”. I felt the presence of a loop hole in the education system where students of an English medium school were not well versed in spellings and general English.
I thought of doing it another way. Next day I divided them into teams and told them to ask spellings from the opponent team. This sense of competition made some of them to find difficult words from their text books such as “environment” and learn them. This little effort of the children was encouraging for me. I also introduced some games in the class such as “Bring a thing” where students had to bring specific objects from their teammates such as “A black Reynolds pen or a paper boat”. Although I could not work for a long time as my vacations were going to be over, but it was an experience I would cherish forever.Something definitely needs to be done somewhere and Colorss is an attempt to do it. After joining Colorss as a volunteer, with Anand sir’s support I was more than comfortable and enjoyed every bit of work. Anand sir’s briefing of everything about children, their background, talents, general behavorial tendencies were helpful to know children better. I would like to thank Anand Sir for giving me the opportunity and believing in me. It was something very different and satisfying I could have done in 4 years of my college life. I enjoyed it and learnt a lot from it.
Since the children were already burdened with unit tests, I thought of conducting some activity which would be new, fun and beneficial at the same time. I came up with “Sudoku”, which provides an overall exercise for the brain, helping in keeping it active, focused and sharp.
The girls were very excited at the prospect of learning a new ‘game’. Smriti and I started with first explaining the various terms associated with the game, followed by the concept. Most of the girls, except 2-3 were quick to grasp it, and were able to solve a 4 X 4 grid within minutes.
Neha and Smriti teaching Sudoku at Project Enhance, Pune
Further when I asked them should I increase the difficulty level by giving a 6 X 6 grid to solve, ALL of them answered in the positive. 2 girls who were giggling and not paying attention, I called upon them to solve the grid on the blackboard, and contrary to what was told by Anand, I did not find them to be shy at all, since most of them were literally jumping and asking for a chance to come and solve on the board.
So basically, I found that if the girls have the knowledge, and when they know what to do and how to do, they become confident automatically.
And when around at quarter to four, I asked them if they would like to have a 9X9 grid to solve at their homes, in case they wanted a break from studying, there was a unanimous yes. On the downside, 3 girls told me that they were bored [its positive in the way that they could freely express what they actually felt].
Create your own story with the help of an image was held at Baroda 'Colors of Life' project, by the Team Baroda. Here the volunteers showed the students the image below. Here the children were asked to look at the image and think what they can perceive. They were asked to come-up with a story. This unconsious method has helped in creative thinking and opening the children.
Image used for creating your own story.
The students came up with this story..
'There was a village called Rampur. A fair was held there one day. Everybody from the village went there. Rohit, a four year old boy, also went there with his parents. Rohit was delighted to be at the fair. He wanted to go to the balloon-seller, food-stalls, the magician, toy stall and the snake-charmer. In his excitement, he left his mother’s hand and got lost. When he couldn’t find them after a while he got scared and started crying. He cried so much that he became tired and fell asleep. His parents made an announcement in the fair asking people to find Rohit and bring him to them. A man found Rohit sleeping and brought him to his parents. His parents were very happy and grateful.'
We were delighted to read this and we hope even you would have enjoyed.
“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
When we first joint colors we
didn’t know what to expect from the children. We didn't know how much they
knew, what they would be interested in or how they would interact with us. We weren't even sure how we should interact with them. Therefore, our initial
classes were not productive. The children did not stay interested in our
classes for long and we began to have problems with the attendance. The boys
would refuse to talk to us, preferring to talk among them, the girls were shy
and we had difficulty in connecting with all of them.
After three months of fruitless
discussions, us pestering them to write and them demanding to go out, we
finally decided to change our approach for lack of satisfactory results. We
spoke to our teachers and mentors and unanimously came up with the idea of doing
more activities with the children. Since then, we have done a variety of
activities with them like the ‘hero game’. In this, we asked each child to
think of his/her favorite film character and tell us how they would respond to
certain given situations.
This helped us to understand what
they admire in their heroes and it made them think about what they would do in
the same situation. We also conducted a quiz o Indian states and capitals.
Though we had asked them to prepare beforehand, most of them didn’t bother. When we gave the teams which won kites as a
prize, the joy on their faces was something we can never forget. They were
genuinely so happy! Some of the others even came up to us and told us that they
would come prepared next time. After months of frustration and disappointment
with our work, we felt like we had finally achieved something!
Now, we feel more confident about
our plans for the future. Though we had broken the ice some time ago, it is
finally getting warmer.
Education is the key aspect that
helps to build a child’s future. However education confined to the realms of textbooks
and notebooks does not make the child ready to face the challenges of the
world. Overall development of a child is of utmost importance for survival in
the world of cut-throat competition. Thus providing basic elementary education
to poor and underprivileged children is not enough to ensure a good future for
them.
PROJECT ENHANCE uses sports and
creative arts to brighten the world of children and contribute towards their
overall development. Reaching out to the girl child is of utmost importance to universalize
elementary
The project is currently carried
out at Pune Municipality Schools
MahadjiShindeHigh
School with 51 girls from 5th to 9th grade.
Dr. Ambedkar Memorial School with 56 girls from 6th
and 9th grade.
Both schools are in Pune Cantonment
Board, Pune
Children take part in 30 minutes
of martial arts and creative arts twice a week. This helps reduce stress,
increase stamina, build confidence, developing a spirit of team work and makes
education more interesting. In addition to this, professionals give the
children talks on topics including body language, careers, family dynamics, communication
skills and more. The result of this project is children who are disciplined,
self-confident and perhaps most importantly, happy.
Women are given a secondary
status in our society. Education of such a kind would help them let go off the inhabitations
that hamper the development and growth of the girl child. After all they have
to grow up and become women of substance, and this initiative of the COLORSS
FOUNDATION helps them achieve this feat.
This novel idea that goes beyond
bookish knowledge and helps improve and empower the girl child. All it needs is
your contribution and time to touch new heights and change more lives.
LET US ALL COME TOGETHER AND MAKE
LIVES FOR THESE CHILDREN A BETTER PLACE SO THAT ONE DAY THEY CAN MAKE THE
NATION PROUD.
We at Colorss are Creating a 3D anime , which would represent Colorss Foundation all across the world.
To achieve it we have got few requirements..
~ Requirements ~
1. We have already decided on the 'ambassador' need a volunteer to get a 3D model ready. 2. Volunteers to write Jingles , that reflect the very essence of the Colorss Foundation. 3. Volunteers to write some stories , comic strips , where in the Mascot and Colorss Foundation are involved. 4. A video clip would work. A presentation which show the work of Colorss and the Mascot. To be posted on Blogs. 5. Searching for an intoxicating 'Voice' for the anime. -
Share this with your friends and anyone interested pls email: emailcolorss@gmail.com or ping message!
Colorss Foundation is a registered trust in India working towards the well-being of underprivileged children by integrating arts and technology. Some of the programs conducted by Colorss are 'One of its kinds'. They help in making these children self-confident and esteemed individuals. Our volunteers come from different corners of the globe; they work with a single motto making Colorss a NGO which is true to its name and deeds. At Colorss we all have a common belief; small steps lead to big changes. Therefore the activities that we perform have a long lasting impression in an individual's life.
A presentation that talk's about its projects.. please have a look.
Project Enhance uses sport and the arts as tools to promote physical well-being while improving mental health. Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder; rather, it is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.
In India, even today girl child is considered as a liability and is often ignored; even harassed and molested. Project Enhance is targeted at empowering the girl child through a blend of martial arts and creative arts resulting into increased self-confidence and improved academic performance as a result.
Objectives:
To empower girl child
Develop discipline to achieve mutual respect and understanding
Develop trust ,confidence, cooperation and togetherness
Increase attention span
Please watch this presentation for more information on this project and feedback of our student.
Project 'Colors of Life' provides an answer to one of our nation's most troubling problems. Although more children are staying in school than in previous years, there are still too many students dropping out, even at the very earliest levels. This problem is especially prevalent among the poor and the disabled. Some studies estimate that as many as 70% of children will drop out before finishing the higher secondary stage. More than half of all children leave school before ninth grade. To reduce these rates, we have to figure out why so many children aren't finishing their studies.
For the most part, children drop out, or are taken out of school by their parents, because they think that school is irrelevant. Many families see school as a bad investment — they'd rather have their children earning money or caring for younger siblings. But by leaving school early, children often fail to realize their full potential; innate skills and abilities are lost by neglect or by failure to explore and foster talents and interests.
If children and their families could see how education will bring much greater economic benefit than might otherwise be gained in the short term, without proper schooling, they would almost invariably prefer to complete their studies.
Objectives:
Motivating children to pursue further education
Reducing the number of school dropouts
Empowering children, developing pride and responsibility in work
Enhancing leadership quality
Please watch this presentation for more information on this project and feedback of our student.
