On the day which comes once in four years, the Centre for Social Action Christ College, organised a programme nomenclatured Gracias. It was an arena for the sponsored students from the Rajendranagar to express their thanks to their sponsors. This was the second edition of Gracias, conducted once a year.
On the 29th of February, almost all of the sponsored children of Rajendranagar trooped in to Christ College. These children were beneficiaries of the sponsorship programme of CSA. Various classes in Christ College, as well as outside people, sponsor education, health and clothes for these kids. And now, these kids were putting up a programme to show their gratitude to their sponsors.
All the sponsor classes and individuals were invited to this programme. But we never expected the huge crowd which turned up to watch the event. And as a few kids sang Hum honge kaam ya… (“We shall overcome…”) the rest of the group of 130 walked in a neat line into the auditorium, inviting thunderous applause. Heartened thus, the kids put up a beautiful and wonderful show.
Johny sir, the co-ordinator of CSA, gave a very enlightening speech about CSA, Rajendranagar, the activities of CSA, and difference the activities made to the area. His speech was followed by a photo presentation consisting of pictures of the Rajendranagar slum, taken by Sacharias. This was followed by the programmes by the kids.
The programmes included a western song, a hilarious, but informative play on girl child education, a dhandiya dance and a Norwegian classical dance. One of the sponsored kids, Kiran, gave a speech about how the sponsorship affected his life. Nivendra, a CSA volunteer, also gave a speech about his experiences with CSA.
The audience were quite inspired by the show and actively gave feedback in the form of appluase. They joined in the rhythm of clapping during the Norwegian dance, and also encouraged the kids by giving heartening applauses at the end of each programme.
The prize distribution for all previous Activity Centre events followed the programmes. And after the entire programme ended, the kids, along with the volunteers headed to the Birds Park to have lunch. The kids hung around for another couple of hours, playing, singing, dancing, and having fun…
As the day ended, every kid had a huge smile on his/her face. Every volunteer was tired, but even they sported cheerful smiles. The programme was organised by the Norwegian exchange students. They did the MCing as well. Kudos to them for a well organised programme, which pulled in a huge audience, and made the children happy!
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