Take Charge

By Marisela Garcia

http://www.ted.com/talks/kiran_bir_sethi_teaches_kids_to_take_charge.html


This video is the perfect example of the PD process in action. There is an initiative in India dedicated to empowering children and motivating them not only to do well in school, but to be change agents in their communities. The campaign: getting infected by the “I Can” bug.

How did this all start? It started with a problem: Child labor. At the Riverside school in India, a class of fifth grade students was learning about child labor. The teach thought, what a better way to learn then by hands on experience on what it means to involved in child labor. The students were asked to roll sticks for eight hours, with only a couple of breaks at a time. It only took two hours of this to initiate change in the minds of these children. They then went out into their community and advocated for the abolishing of child labor. Having children take the streets of India was an effective method of acting your way into a new way of thinking. Their mindsets shifted from the teacher told me to this to I can do this.

This project then fled to other parts of India. In one city, every other month, the city closes down the biggest streets and makes it a play day for children, encouraging the “I can” initiative. The most important aspect of this project is putting the solution in the hands of the students. The challenge: one idea, one week, change a billion lives. Acting your way into a new way of thinking in practice.