THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Do you have a story in you? Would you want to see your life story enacted? At Kenyan Gikufu’s stall themed on education, the stories you narrate will be scripted on the spot and you can watch your own story evolve on stage, being performed with the involvement of Gikufu and members of a theatre group, APT Performance and Research, based in the city.
Gikufu Francis Ndungu, a participant (student) at kanthari, dreams about providing media and film training for children and youth from the Mukuru slums, as he believes that telling stories in creative ways will help develop a positive mindset on life.
Come Saturday and you will be witness to a maze of such innovative social ideas as a group of participants from kanthari introduce their ideas for social change to the public. Christened ‘Spread The Spice’, this international festival of social change is a celebration of revolutionary ideas.
So drop in at the stall on disability and inclusion by international chess champion Sohibjamol Rakamova, wherein she will introduce you to her project centred around exploring the potential of chess to enhance the motor, cognitive and social skills of children with disabilities.
Or take a trip to the women empowerment stall of Kenyan native Cavin Odera, where he will let you into his dream project ‘WA-WA’ (meaning fisherwoman in Swahili), which is weaved around empowering fisherwomen who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation by equipping them with skills in fishing and boat building. The NGO Fest organised jointly by kanthari and Manaveeyam Theruvorakkoottam will be inaugurated by writer George Onakoor at 9:30 am.
The Manaveeyam Veedhi which is dubbed as the cultural corridor of the city will be a melting pot of ideas as the 13 participants of the 2018 batch in kanthari interact with the public and share their ideas for social change. “The syllabi of the participants comprises five ‘acts’. The third act will get underway on Saturday where they will interact with the public and gain practical experience about the prototype of their social initiative,” says Biju Simon, catalyst (a faculty).
The event will also have a representation of various other NGOs. “Discussions, workshops, activities and games have been made part of the event. The aim of the programme is manifold. The larger goal is to bring in a shift in the mindset and foster critical thinking amongst the attendees,” he added. Replete with deliberation and workshops, the one-day-long event will present before the public a host of ideas and actions charted out by the participants. In all, 30 stalls will be set up. The stalls will be themed on women empowerment, alternative education, critical thinking, disability rights, and the environment.
The NGO Fest will conclude with a music concert. Entry is free.