"Jan Madhyam - Of the People in India"
By Barbara Kolucki (bakoluck@aol.com)
Jan Madhyam means "of the people". It all began in 1982 as a small group of puppeteers. Mostly women, they developed simple puppet shows for both children and adults and traveled into communities around India. They used the puppets, games, music, dance and artistic crafts to educate children and to work with communities on problems that they were facing. In the 1980s, I knew them as creative puppeteers , pioneer community educators, and one of the few groups inclusive of and interested in disability and the media.
None of this has changed. Except that Jan Madhyam has continued to grow, to be pioneers and to, in a very humble way, change the lives of many disabled and disadvantaged young women and children.
One of the founders, Ranjana Pandey, is the mother of a beautiful daughter with Down Syndrome, now in her 20s. So Ranjana also asked questions about disabled children wherever she was performing. Not only was there a dearth of services, there was almost no referral or resource service for families and of course, there was the usual range of negative attitudes in the community.
As Ranjana's daughter Devika, grew, their own family faced a new range of concerns. And you can be sure that whenever Jan Madhyam went out into rural and poor communities, those she met had an even more desperate range of concerns along with fewer resources. As a young women with a disability faced adulthood, so do did she and her family face new issues like male/female companionship, social acceptance, marriage, economic independence - or work based on her ability. Caregivers grew older, extended families changed, traditional rural work was not as plentiful.
But Ranjana also noticed that the same was true for all types of poor and disadvantaged young women as well. And if these women had any type of learning difficulty or physical disability, their hardships and obstacles were multiplied.
In 1993, Jan Madhyam opened a small centre in a rural area outside Delhi. The purpose is to be inclusive:it integrates disabled and non-disabled young women in a variety of training; it is inclusive in its range of resource and referral services; it includes family members in planning and implementation and community work; and it continues to address attitudes about disability, and about women with disability or disadvantage through a variety of traditional and modern media.
During my visit there in October 2002, I met two young, talented professionals -- Jaya Nagpal who is in charge of the Training Programme and Kapila Grureja, Special Educator. I saw rooms of young women, working on a range of living skills. Some took orders for tea, then made and served it to us. Others were making crafts to sell at an upcoming Diwali mela (crafts fair before the November festival) - all from recycled or readily available materials. Some worked in an organic garden where they also learn to recycle garbage to use as compost. Others were in a music class - and when I noticed a pair of calipers near the wall - I naturally assumed they belonged to one of the women. An hour later, I met their male teacher - with his calipers.
Jan Madhyam spends a lot of time in the community. This includes regular schools as well as community gatherings. They teach arts and crafts to young school children and they perform puppet plays for children as well as adults. After teaching a group of children, they will ask "Did you know that one of your teachers has a disability?" Usually, about 99% of the children and their teachers say yes. They then ask "Did you find anything inadequate about this or any teacher?" Their answer: NO - and please all come again!
I have always admired Jan Madhyam as a group of puppeteers. As a matter of fact, they were all involved in the first pilot TV series for preschoolers in 2001-2002 where puppets and adult cast, together with very professional animation, taught and entertained children on the Indian Government sponsored channels. The original puppeteers mentored young women over the years. What I was especially thrilled to hear was that young women with disability have also been trained as puppeteers in the last few years. This includes women who are mentally retarded. They perform in a mix of professional and non-professional puppeteers and alas, when the performance is over - the audience is surprised to see that some are disabled. And children love to ask all of the puppeteers for their autograph - even the puppeteers who cannot write their names!!!
Jan Madhyam uses arts and media for everything. They believe that it enriches the emotional development of the girls and communities they are serving. Their work is about self-esteem and confidence - regardless of gender, economic status or ability. And the arts and media are also used as part of skills training. Some of the non-disabled young women from the community are trained in tailoring or cooking - and then they are helped to set up a "business" at home. And each young woman is taught to her ability. If she can only sew buttons - then that is her skill. If she can make a suit - then that is her talent. As Ranjana said to me "Some can work a to z. Other can work a - d. And still other can work only c and k. It is our job to reach them where THEY are at".
So, what else is Jan Madhyam about? In summary, their areas of work include:
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Spreading Awareness about Disability:
These include puppet shows, songs and plays, quizzes, press and TV campaigns and exhibitions
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Distributing Information:
One of the best "Directories of Services for Persons with Special Needs" that I have ever seen is produced by Jan Madhyam and updated on a regular basis. The one I have is only for "Delhi and the National Capital Region" . The Directory includes everything from Daycare Centres, schools for every type of impairment, training courses for teachers and caregivers, and a list of specialists ranging form homeopathic doctors to child psychologists.
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Training:
As previously mentioned, much of the training is vocational skills-based. But there is equal emphasis on the social and emotional skills necessary for adulthood - simple calculations and handling of money, functional literacy, and problem-solving/personal-skills training on issues like sex education, violence and abuse against women.
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Increasing Inclusive Services:
The model training centre that caters for all in need in the Aya Nagar village outside Delhi.
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Working with children:
They are working with both disabled and non-disabled children in special and mainstreamed schools on topics such as health, hygiene and disability.
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Guidance and Referral:
They are one of the few NGOs that is providing counseling and assistance for families who are concerned about planning for the future for their disabled young adult.
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Networking:
A great deal of work is done with and for the community. Jan Madhyam provides medical camps, seminars, legal advocacy, festivals, etc.
As someone who trains others to produce media and materials for and about children - I think that what I have seen of Jan Madhyam's products is "spot on". Whether it is a low-literacy book on cooking, a problem-solving book about sexual abuse or a puppet show that integrates disability - these include all the principles I have learned that make effective media - and lead to behaviour change. I have no doubt that this NGO will continue to grow and do remarkable things - that benefit all of us.
Contact information:
Jan Madhyam
148 Zamrudpur
New Delhi 110 048 INDIA
Email:
jmadhyam@ndf.vsnl.net.in
Website:
www.janmadhyam.com
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