Reaching out: Chennai slum children script film
Alaphia Zoyab
Monday, April,9 2007 (Chennai):
She has been nicknamed Mug-Up Mangamma because all she does the whole day is mug up her lessons.
But how much is Mangamma actually learning? Nothing is the answer.
Yet across government schools and tuition centres this is what happens - mindless memorising and the occassional caning.
Frustrated with this system, some children from the slums of Chennai scripted, directed and acted in this film Mug-Up Mangamma and it is even being screened abroad.
Helping hand
Trained by an NGO Nalandaway, the little film-makers are showing the world a thing or two - literally.
"One person looks at it as a need to create more fun in education, another person looks at this as a tool to prevent corporal punishment in schools," said Sriram V Ayer, Founder, Nalandaway.
It is a refreshing children's perspective and highly impactful too. One of the kids, Sandhya, told NDTV that her teacher watched it and now actually stops to ask her and the other kids if they have actually understood what she has been teaching them.
"It is much better than before," said V Prabhakar, Student.
Mug-Up Mangamma is finally taught Newton's third of motion by a senior student with the help of these fruits. For the first time she understands and is immediately nicknamed 'Pick-up Mangamma'.
It is just one of eight honest films made by the very children, who might be poor but full of talent and wanting to make a change.
