Category : India

Now that we’re one week into Level Up: Race for Humanity, we want to introduce some of the amazing mentors from our Play for Peace clubs who are taking part in this month-long event. We’ll be following their journeys over the next few weeks, to share how they are leveling up in their communities.

In Mumbai, the Khula Aasman Club has been creating peace in its region since 2014, developing leadership skills in marginalized youth and children using play and the arts. While COVID-19 has presented new challenges for the club, the group has continued to have a great impact on its community.

Now a global pandemic, Covid-19 has affected almost every country in the world, sickening populations of people and overwhelming healthcare systems. While we all must practice social distancing in order to slow the spread and “flatten the curve,” our club in India is still finding ways to create compassion, connection, and community.

After recent riots in New Delhi, India, resulted in destruction and loss of life, our club in Mumbai joined together for a special peace session. The group discussed the tragic events and how despite their differences, the group is dedicated to creating inclusion and peace in their community.

We are lucky to work with trainers around the world who are dedicated to creating peace. A perfect example of this is Nikhil Mehta, our trainer in Mumbai, India, who recently hosted a Play for Peace session in the Aarey Colony, which has been in the news due to serious conflict.

As the world changes, we are constantly evaluating our methodology to ensure that Play for Peace is meeting the needs of communities around the world. Since climate change is a major challenge the world is facing, we are hosting our first-ever Resilience Training to participants dealing with the after effects of unprecedented flooding.

When it comes to partnering, universities are a natural fit for Play for Peace. For this reason, we recently conducted a two-day youth leadership training at SNDT Women’s University in Pune, India, to teach students there about the cooperative play experience and experiential education. 

Tomorrow, September 21, is World Peace Day. In honor of this important global celebration, we are excited about the many wonderful efforts happening in the Play for Peace global community—from our clubs’ World Peace Day activities to our annual Fall 5K event. 

This past April, Play for Peace clubs around the world celebrated Earth Week by taking part in the 2019 Play for Peace Global Games. Working with more than 700 children over the course of the week, our clubs explored what it means to be a leader when you feel connected to the earth.

This special guest blog post by Shiekh Nadiya Habib, a child protection social activist in India, describes how training with Play for Peace has truly inspired and affected her life for the better, and how she hopes to be a certified trainer one day.