Dream Connect Centre

The IMPA members Leema Bernad Viji and Shabana Khan conducted a session on 18th May 2014 at the Dream Connect Centre , Madiwala, Bangalore. Dream a Dream provides non traditional educational opportunities designed to allow young people to explore, innovate, and build important life skills.

This Dream connect centre is managed by an organization called Dream a Dream and sponsored by DELL. A Bangalore-based organization, Dream a Dream, is has been founded on the premise that if you show youngsters from any background, a positive path, they will go forward to become good citizens of the country.

The “Dream a Dream” teenagers who were present at the workshop were from vulnerable backgrounds and were keen to learn about Grooming, clothing and simple business etiquette from the two trainers Leema and Shabana.

All of the participants were in the age group of 14-18 years.

We began with an ice breaker and the session was peppered with energizers that the kids loved to participate in.

Both the trainers used very practical ways to help the children learn about challenges they faced when choosing the right clothes to make a good first impression. These skills are not taught to them at traditional schools and often their personal network also lacks knowledge about clothing and grooming.

They also learnt that that the right body language likes standing tall, making eye contact and shaking hands firmly often is essential to make a mark with a potential employer.

The young girls present were interested to know more about make –up and we conducted a session on makeup to be worn in office- the dos and donts. We also conducted a Demo with a young participant as the model for the day.

At the end of the session they were provided with simple snacks.

Dream a Dream focuses on building life skills to equip youth with the decision-making, problem-solving and interpersonal and emotional skills necessary to transition better to adulthood. Young people from vulnerable communities often live in unprotected environments, where they are exploited or they lack opportunities for growth. Support institutions such as ‘Dream a Dream ‘offer a more loving and protective environment and meet their basic needs. Most of these kids from vulnerable backgrounds lack support institutions and Volunteers like IMPA members help them to cope with real life challenges successfully.