REPORT ON VISIT TO SWARACHNA SCHOOL, SITAPUR:-

On 8th April 2023, members of GirlUp Flames of Justice (FoJ) volunteered for a visit to Swarachna School, Sitapur, conducted by GirlUp India and Milaan Foundation. 5 volunteers of FoJ- Saundarya Nair, Aanvi Chattopadhyay, Ujesha Mishra, Swastika Rastogi, Rituraj Gupta, along with 2 teachers attended the visit, which also involved 29 students of Swarachna School and 4 volunteers of Girl Up Lucknow.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the school Principal and given a tour of the premises. The school had multiple classrooms, a playground, a well-stocked library, and an innovation lab.

The volunteers took part in a session titled ‘Gender 101’ by the Milaan team, which explained the concept of gender, gender roles, and sex to all the attendees. This session was carried out through multiple interactive and enriching activities such as a game of tag between ‘Team Girls’ and ‘Team Boys’, drawing caricatures of, and differentiating between, girls and boys as per the attendees’ understanding and finally, assigning tasks as ‘masculine’, ‘feminine’ or ‘both’. These activities helped to dissect the role of society in forming gender roles and restrictions and encouraged the participants to challenge such ideas. The event concluded with informal bonding and photography sessions among all the attendees. In conclusion, the visit to Swarachna School for underprivileged students supported by Milaan Foundation was an eye-opening experience. The impact of the foundation’s efforts was in improving the quality of education and awareness for the students, particularly the girls.