My second appointment was with Mr Arun Kotankar, one of the main
persons running an organisation called Samvad which has a programme
called SMILE (Student Mobilisation Initiative for Learning) in
Bangalore. I reached the office at 10.30 a.m. although my appointment
was at 12 o'clock. I showed him my reference letter and in a little
while he sat to talk with me.
Mr Kotankar told me about the SMILE programmes in Bangalore. On
Saturday afternoons they have an informal open house at Samvad. They
watch a film, have a debate or just talk on a specific topic of
interest to students, like tourism, dowry, child abuse, fisherfolk's
struggles or topics like marriage, love, education or parents.
Students also visit organisations working with dalits, tribals, women,
street children, fisherpeople, etc. One can also learn environmental
conservation. If the students cannot go to far off places and have to
stay back during vacations, they are advised to take up campaigns or
undertake studies on local problems like child labour, environmental
degradation, construction workers' rights, etc.
Shodhane which means `search' is a newsletter brought out by students
who have been to these exposure camps and they write about their
experiences during the exposure or generally about other social
concerns.
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