The lack of verve among its students was very evident when SNDP Higher Secondary School, Aluva, opened to regular work after having doubled up as a relief camp when floods struck.
More than half of its students were directly affected by the deluge, with some having lost their relatives and the others their houses and belongings. Some students were not yet out of relief camps and came to school from there. Their low spirits was immensely palpable.
Kavitha Anish, National Service Scheme (NSS) programme officer at the school, felt overwhelmed at the number of students who probably needed help. She reached out to the Kudumbashree mission, which promptly despatched seven counsellor from its District Mission.
1,200 students
The counsellors, under the aegis of the Snehitha help desk of the Kudumbashree, met 1,200 students, from the upper primary to the higher secondary level, during the day. They made sure they did not dole out advices and were reaching out in a real sense, keeping their sessions highly interactive.
“We did not ask students about their experiences directly so that they do not revisit the trauma. Only during experience sharing did we come to know of what they had gone through, and we had to take a suitable approach,” Anitha Kumari S., one of the counsellors along with Surya S., from Snehitha, said.
The students were told stories of survivors to inspire them not to give up and do their best to overcome the odds. “The focus of everyone were on the adults and their losses and problems. Little thought or time is given to what the children went through or what they lost. We were able to tell them that it was not the end of the road and how having survived an ordeal, they could reclaim a lot if they stood strong,” Anitha said.
Helpline
The students were also given the Snehitha helpline numbers in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. “After we returned, we got calls from students in other districts asking about the help desk in their respective districts. So, we realised students had shared the numbers and were open to using this mechanism. This can bring about a huge change,” Anitha said.