“I have the determination to keep studying even upto college”
“I am told by my neighbors that I am good at studies so not to leave school like they had to..”
These statements may seem common for overall youth – but coming from Nomadic, Adivasi first generation learners – children and youth whose entire generations have grown up in tents, facing unimaginable discrimination and stigma, who have no one in their entire family, settlement, or community’s history with higher education, such statements are truly to be saluted.
Not only the youngsters themselves, but their community leaders and the handful older youth are to be commended who are working so hard to instill these values and dedication – with no financial or social benefits to themselves.
Anubhuti, continuing our commitment to stand by such progressive community leadership, was privileged to have youth from more than 5 padas/settlements/villages from across Badlapur and Ambernath for a full day’s workshop. Various topics from their community’s powerful history, the roots of their later exploitation, Constitutional literacy, environmental justice and their future leadership in every field were discussed.
The intelligence shown by these first time workshop participants were rich with their high experiential and lived realities – unmatched by any theoretical learning.