Ahotsa

The goal of Ahotsa was to promote the value of "Standing up for Oneself."

Preksha Sunil Patwa, our young leader, recognized that everyone is unique and that even something seemingly innocent for certain people might be terrifying for others. We must be able to stand up for yourselves or communicate your opinions instead of escaping the situation. We shouldn't undervalue ourselves or judge ourselves against others.

Ahotsa's key takeaway was, "You must speak out for yourself! To express your thoughts and feelings is not wrong. And it's acceptable to refrain from doing so, but try not to allow it to affect you in any way.

The team used two strategies to promote this message. For a two-day stall event, they held facilitation sessions for various departments across campuses.

Stalls

For both days, the team organized various games, each with a message to convey. The 7up and 7down games we played expressed that although life is full of ups and downs, we shouldn't give up lightly and instead give it our all. Additionally, there is always a second chance if we fail. One such game is this one. Every day we played eight different games, and we also had a prize round where anyone who had won a game would go and receive a reward based on their luck. We also created a music and dancing area along with the stalls where visitors could boogie to the songs and dance. We got a lot of cooperation from teachers and other faculty members in addition to our students.

Facilitation Sessions

The facilitators and pkcl were introduced to the attendees to kick off the session. Volunteers participated in activities such as bingo, guess the movie, Pictionary, most likely, and group discussions while sharing personal tales from their lives. The kids actively participated, and several shared personal stories from their lives during the session. The lesson taught them that while speaking up is vital, there are moments when we feel like staying silent is the better course. It's okay to do this occasionally, but we should watch out for how it's hurting our mental health. At the end of the session, many students thanked the volunteers for conducting it, as it encouraged them and impacted them. Overall, the session went smoothly, and the volunteers enjoyed themselves. It piqued the instructors' interest, who actively participated and shared their personal experiences with the students.

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