Hobbies and Hope

Cooking class at C2C Partner NGO

At C2C, we believe that every part of a girl’s life contributes to her self-confidence, autonomy, and overall well-being. Our curriculum of English language classes, Vedic math, Tech Lab, STEM courses, and life-skills training is designed to provide students with the tools necessary to transform their lives. In working with our partners, we focus on supporting all girls holistically to strengthen the four Cs—confidence, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.

We also believe in the importance of supporting the girls’ own individual interests and encouraging them to explore their talents. C2C girls have a vast range of talents and hobbies that they incorporate into their daily lives. These hobbies bring them joy and confidence, enhancing both their self-esteem and their desire to learn.

Tanvi, a fourteen-year-old student at C2C partner center FFLV, lives in a rental house with her family of five. They are in poor financial condition, as her father is unable to find steady work. 

Tanvi is extremely grateful for the C2C programs, which give her much-needed knowledge and training. “My father would have never been able to afford these courses,” she says, “but because of the C2C program, I’m getting this knowledge without paying a single rupee.”

Through C2C and with the inspiration of her teacher, Tanvi wants to become an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer. She says, “I want to eliminate corruption and discrimination from my country. And punish those who do harm to innocents. I want women to feel safe.”

On her path to her goal, Tanvi often turns to cooking as a way to both alleviate stress and provide for her family. “Cooking is my passion,” she says. “I enjoy cooking because it keeps me happy in my life. Whenever I feel sad or upset, cooking eases that for me in a big way. Every Sunday, I try to cook something special for my sister and my father.”

As she finds balance between her studies and her home life, Tanvi is focused on changing both her own future and that of her family. “I’ll study hard and I’ll achieve my dream,” she says. “I’ll make my father feel happy and proud of me. I’ll support my sister and my father, and I’ll give them a better life...free from struggle.”

All C2C girls come from difficult, often traumatic home lives. Twelve-year-old Sneha, a student at C2C partner The Small World, lost her parents at a very young age. Sneha still struggles with missing her parents, but is grateful for her education. “I’m proud to be a good learner in many activities,” she says. “I always try to give my 100% to learn those activities. Each and every activity teaches us new values, some knowledge, and some great skills too.”

Sneha credits C2C’s computer and English classes with giving her confidence and the determination to achieve her dream. She also incorporates her hobbies of playing sports as well as cultural activities like dancing and singing into her daily life. These hobbies keep her mind “busy and active” as she pursues her goal of becoming a civil engineer.

At C2C partner center SPRJK, ten-year-old Anjali also struggles with her family’s difficult situation, which is compounded by her parents’ troubles with finances, alcohol, abuse, and conflict. 

But Anjali finds both joy and escape through her favorite hobby of singing. “I love to sing my favorite songs and music,” she says. “It makes me happy and I really get into my own little bubble when I do. I express a lot of feelings through music, and I love that. I sing in the halls, in class, on the bus rides to school.”

Anjali credits C2C with giving her an interest in education and helping her learn valuable skills like English and computer technology. She has an admirable goal of wanting to become an army officer and “do something great for my nation.”

Tanvi, Sneha, and Anjali exemplify the C2C belief in holistic well-being. They have learned that engaging in their hobbies provides much-needed happiness, stress relief, and empowerment. By incorporating cooking, sports, dancing, and singing into their daily lives, they are also strengthening their confidence in their academic abilities.

As all the girls work to transform their lives, C2C both emphasizes and supports the importance of cultivating their interests, exploring their talents, and engaging in their favorite hobbies as they chart their paths to future success. 

Fostering Creativity with the Scratch App

Creativity. It’s that buzzword many employers are looking for in prospective hires. But how can someone demonstrate they are creative? Furthermore, how can they acquire this skill in a school setting?

It feels contradictory to pair creativity with education. For many of us, we entered school with flourishing imaginations and got bogged down with rules and instructions. We left school “educated,” able to color within the lines.  

For C2C, this issue is even more challenging within the educational structures in place for the girls we work with in India. In a society where numerous families perceive their daughter’s potential in terms of her marriageability, how can she explore her creative potential?

Girls in C2C not only have access to computer learning skills in TechLab, but they also are given free range to explore their technological and creative prowess through apps. The free app, Scratch, allows users to create music, videos, and games while also learning coding.

When using Scratch, the girls have used the app in imaginative and inspiring ways. During one class, the instructor assigned the students the task to upload a music file and remix it in order to practice playing with the different effects of sound. While everyone got to work, one girl decided to go a different route—using her own voice. She recorded herself singing a song and uploaded it to the app. Using Scratch’s features, she remixed her voice and published the song. The tutor was so amazed that she showed the song to Kuber Sharma, executive director of C2C in India. Needless to say, he was floored. “We didn’t know that was possible!” he exclaimed. 

Another student used Scratch as a storytelling platform. She drew a character, uploaded it into Scratch, and then began writing a story to go along with her creation. The story may have initially been inspired by an example project, but as the narrative progressed it became abundantly clear that this was a story all its own, birthed from her imagination.

Creativity is crucial to an adolescent’s development and yet there are no parameters for how to teach this skill. But when providing our girls with helpful technological tools, we witness them be more daring, ready to try new things, and problem-solve any difficulties. Our students have created songs, stories, animations and other media because we provide them the instruction that they don’t need to simply color inside the lines.