Hridakasha (infinite space of the heart), a six month course certificate course offered by Snehadhara Foundation, Bengaluru, in association with Mirra focussed on “Enabling peer – peer interaction to create empathetic learning spaces using the Arts”.
This is one of the training programs mentioned in Abhividhi as part of capacity building measures.
The objectives of the course were:
- To create a space for children that would allow them to bring up questions, share feelings, reflect on thoughts, and discuss self-image, events in the world, relationships and biases in a non-threatening creative manner.
- To enable teachers to look at mainstream content artistically.
- To comprehend the theory and practice of various forms of art and how these can be used in working with children and adults with special needs.
- To experience and explore a realm of learning possibilities using the Arts.
- To help us challenge our belief systems, push our boundaries and create a symbiotic learning relationship within and with the world around.
Testimonial – Efficacy of ABT in a therapeutic setting as experienced by Mirra
Even in such short a period the realization of the potential of the arts for us has been immense. Just the experience of the art forms has helped us facilitators as much as we think it helped the children we work with. The experience of ABT for the team at Mirra has been largely in terms of reflecting within, being in touch with who we are, practising mindfulness in almost every interaction with children and their caregivers and taking ownership of the objective of “creating an all inclusive space for children to go beyond disabilities so that they may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy and education”, which is Mirra’s dream.
It is another new journey Mirra has embarked upon with utmost excitement about the possibilities that the modality brings with it.