Thanks for the work that you are doing! Your video was really informative + inspiring. With the success you've had in overcoming the barrier of sport's value for women, what's your vision for the program? At your swimming gatherings/lessons, do you ever address other topical/relevant subjects for the women of the coastal villages? It seems like you have quite an opportunity to address other issues/concerns.
All the best for this competition, Well done + Congratulations!
Thank you so much for your appreciation of our project. We want each and every girl to engage in atleast one sport. Many communities in India keep the girls covered from head to toe. Raising a hand is also a tabboo. We want girls to be comfortable with their bodies and be confident and proud to be a woman. I think sports really helps in that. Of course swimming was also a way to get the women out. We used this time as an opportunity to talk about many issues, including- education, leadership, health and most importantly self esteem
thank again for your best wishes
archana
Your innovative initiative to use sports to bring about a change seems the only way to do it. Yet I cant think of any one who has used such a simple tool to bring change, self esteem and happiness in the lives of the community. It surely is to me a very positive development and I hope to see more of such efforts in India. But have you ever revisited the are and met with your students to see if they continue to use their skills and find time to swim?
kalpana gupta kalpanagupta@pnb.co.in
Dear kalpana,
I am really glad that you appreciate the project. Your email id reflects the name of a renowned public sector bank. If you are from PNB then Banks like yours can also look at funding such projects as part of your CSR . Yes we have visited the villages a few times. The girls in Chennai continued with their swimming classes and the pool was available to them for free. However the women in the villages did not have access to the pool as it was in a resort and during the tourist seasons they are booked. However they practice their swimming in the shallow parts of the sea, when the men are out fishing. They have shown an interest in life saving skills. But we have not been able to get the funding.
best
archana
A very inspiring venture.To be able to break the barriers and taboo attached to the women and be able to get them out of their secluded existence is realy a very remarkable feat. One can easily gauge the hard work , your perseverence and determination that must have gone into bringing about such a change in the attitude and thinking of the society. I am sure that you will be an inspiration for many others.
shefali dreamdeepseas@gmail.com
An excellent endeavour to bring change in attitude & mindsets. Taking postive steps & action is the only solution to all problems & that is what has been done by teaching swimming to women post tsunami.Excellent work.Keep it up!
vandana vandana@infotreeservice.com
Great project you have.
I agree with you that the key issues in participation is access to facilities for sport.
Its a key learning to share with others about making sport available to women and girls by fitting in as much as possible into the cultural structure of the community.
How do you work with the various age groups, do the women bring their girl children or is the programme only for the adult women?
Thanks Lombe. Trust is a very important factor in any such venture. We had won the confidence of our target group. The mothers and fathers of the children would at times reach the pool at 6 am. An hour before the training session began! The children were given breakfast after the swimming session along with their guardians and were dropped to school.The parents were as excited as the children and would have also jumped in the pool given a chance!I cant forget the look of pride on their faces when their children could swim the length and breadth of the pool. The women in the coastal areas were also picked up from the villages and dropped back. At times they were accompanied by their children.
tks
archana
Hi WWB,
Welcome to the online community! Thank you for entering this competition.
You've named several interesting opportunities for expanding and building your sustainability plan to move beyond the region where you are currently and I'm interested to learn more about those plans. You've talked about using any type of sport, i.e., football in Iraq, other sports in Africa, etc. It seems like you've honed a very unique skill and expertise in promoting swimming - why are you expanding to other sports when it seems that you have an obvious gift to share with other communities in dire need of swimming as a tool for social change? I'd love to know more.
Your project is inspiring! It is great that you are focused on swimming and to open the pools to anyone not just the elite.
I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group. Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund that supports sport and physical activities as instruments for social change and women’s empowerment.
Women Win will use the competition to find a fellow between the ages of 15 and 65 years old that positively change the lives of women and girls in their community through sports.
Thank you for your compelling application! Who would have thought that people who are raised near the water have no swimming skills - your application educated me regarding the many challenges you face getting women and girls active in those communities!
You are doing great work using swimming as a way of both getting women active and as possible life saving skills. I would hate for you to expand too quickly in other sports when there is still so much work to be done in this arena. Just a thought.
Once again, good luck in all you do and thanks for sharing your project with the world!
What a great program! The ability to swim is a very empowering one, especially in some areas of India. You have great vision in where you are headed with this program.
As the time has passed, are you beginning to see more support from the community as a whole? And what changes have you seen in the women themselves outside of the natatorium?
Good luck in the competition!
Rahul (Robin) Brahmbhatt
Center for Sport Management
George Mason University
Wow, what an amazing project! As a swimmer, swim teacher and lifeguard I am in awe of what you have achived so far and wish you all the success in the future! As you have stated, swimming is a basic life skill and the way in which you have helped these women and communities really is inspiring. I was wondering, what are the levels of drop out like for the programme and what strategies have you employed to make your project such a success? Also what are your next steps? Would you consider increasing the awareness of your project by utilising trainers from the uk and europe?
Congratulations on being selected a Gamechangers Finalist! Your work empowering women through swimming after the tsunami tragedy is remarkable. Through your work, you must have learned ways to breakdown the societal barriers against women. How might you apply these learnings to break other barriers that exist against women?
Comments
WWB,
Thanks for the work that you are doing! Your video was really informative + inspiring. With the success you've had in overcoming the barrier of sport's value for women, what's your vision for the program? At your swimming gatherings/lessons, do you ever address other topical/relevant subjects for the women of the coastal villages? It seems like you have quite an opportunity to address other issues/concerns.
All the best for this competition, Well done + Congratulations!
kevin carroll katalyst
Thank you so much for your appreciation of our project. We want each and every girl to engage in atleast one sport. Many communities in India keep the girls covered from head to toe. Raising a hand is also a tabboo. We want girls to be comfortable with their bodies and be confident and proud to be a woman. I think sports really helps in that. Of course swimming was also a way to get the women out. We used this time as an opportunity to talk about many issues, including- education, leadership, health and most importantly self esteem
thank again for your best wishes
archana
Your innovative initiative to use sports to bring about a change seems the only way to do it. Yet I cant think of any one who has used such a simple tool to bring change, self esteem and happiness in the lives of the community. It surely is to me a very positive development and I hope to see more of such efforts in India. But have you ever revisited the are and met with your students to see if they continue to use their skills and find time to swim?
kalpana gupta
kalpanagupta@pnb.co.in
Dear kalpana,
I am really glad that you appreciate the project. Your email id reflects the name of a renowned public sector bank. If you are from PNB then Banks like yours can also look at funding such projects as part of your CSR . Yes we have visited the villages a few times. The girls in Chennai continued with their swimming classes and the pool was available to them for free. However the women in the villages did not have access to the pool as it was in a resort and during the tourist seasons they are booked. However they practice their swimming in the shallow parts of the sea, when the men are out fishing. They have shown an interest in life saving skills. But we have not been able to get the funding.
best
archana
A very inspiring venture.To be able to break the barriers and taboo attached to the women and be able to get them out of their secluded existence is realy a very remarkable feat. One can easily gauge the hard work , your perseverence and determination that must have gone into bringing about such a change in the attitude and thinking of the society. I am sure that you will be an inspiration for many others.
shefali
dreamdeepseas@gmail.com
An excellent endeavour to bring change in attitude & mindsets. Taking postive steps & action is the only solution to all problems & that is what has been done by teaching swimming to women post tsunami.Excellent work.Keep it up!
vandana
vandana@infotreeservice.com
Bravo!
Great project you have.
I agree with you that the key issues in participation is access to facilities for sport.
Its a key learning to share with others about making sport available to women and girls by fitting in as much as possible into the cultural structure of the community.
How do you work with the various age groups, do the women bring their girl children or is the programme only for the adult women?
Look forward to hearing more about it.
Lombe
Thanks Lombe. Trust is a very important factor in any such venture. We had won the confidence of our target group. The mothers and fathers of the children would at times reach the pool at 6 am. An hour before the training session began! The children were given breakfast after the swimming session along with their guardians and were dropped to school.The parents were as excited as the children and would have also jumped in the pool given a chance!I cant forget the look of pride on their faces when their children could swim the length and breadth of the pool. The women in the coastal areas were also picked up from the villages and dropped back. At times they were accompanied by their children.
tks
archana
Hi WWB,
Welcome to the online community! Thank you for entering this competition.
You've named several interesting opportunities for expanding and building your sustainability plan to move beyond the region where you are currently and I'm interested to learn more about those plans. You've talked about using any type of sport, i.e., football in Iraq, other sports in Africa, etc. It seems like you've honed a very unique skill and expertise in promoting swimming - why are you expanding to other sports when it seems that you have an obvious gift to share with other communities in dire need of swimming as a tool for social change? I'd love to know more.
Thanks for entering,
Stephani
Nike
Archana,
Your project is inspiring! It is great that you are focused on swimming and to open the pools to anyone not just the elite.
I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group. Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund that supports sport and physical activities as instruments for social change and women’s empowerment.
Women Win will use the competition to find a fellow between the ages of 15 and 65 years old that positively change the lives of women and girls in their community through sports.
We would love to hear your opinion on the topics discussed. To be part of the group, go to http://sportforchange.changemakers.com/en-us/group/womenwin and click join group.
Renata
WWB -
Thank you for your compelling application! Who would have thought that people who are raised near the water have no swimming skills - your application educated me regarding the many challenges you face getting women and girls active in those communities!
You are doing great work using swimming as a way of both getting women active and as possible life saving skills. I would hate for you to expand too quickly in other sports when there is still so much work to be done in this arena. Just a thought.
Once again, good luck in all you do and thanks for sharing your project with the world!
Kathy
Nike
The video was really informative and inspiring. An interesting platform for women to come out of the shell and mark their presence.
Archana,
What a great program! The ability to swim is a very empowering one, especially in some areas of India. You have great vision in where you are headed with this program.
As the time has passed, are you beginning to see more support from the community as a whole? And what changes have you seen in the women themselves outside of the natatorium?
Good luck in the competition!
Rahul (Robin) Brahmbhatt
Center for Sport Management
George Mason University
Wow, what an amazing project! As a swimmer, swim teacher and lifeguard I am in awe of what you have achived so far and wish you all the success in the future! As you have stated, swimming is a basic life skill and the way in which you have helped these women and communities really is inspiring. I was wondering, what are the levels of drop out like for the programme and what strategies have you employed to make your project such a success? Also what are your next steps? Would you consider increasing the awareness of your project by utilising trainers from the uk and europe?
Well done again!
Katy Taylor
Loughborough University
Nike Select
Hi Archana,
Congratulations on being selected a Gamechangers Finalist! Your work empowering women through swimming after the tsunami tragedy is remarkable. Through your work, you must have learned ways to breakdown the societal barriers against women. How might you apply these learnings to break other barriers that exist against women?
Thanks and good luck,
The Gamechangers Judges’ Panel
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