We’re a group of students and teachers brought together through our school, Mahindra United World College of India, a member of the renowned UWC movement whose mission statement is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”. Through our college we’ve had the opportunity, support and funding to start a student led initiative named Kriyā, to support marginalized women in communities on the perimeter of our home.
We’re a group of students and teachers brought together through our school, Mahindra United World College of India, a member of the renowned UWC movement whose mission statement is to
The Kriya Shivajis program empowers women from the Colvan and Mulshi valleys through a variety of physical activity.
The program operates bi-weekly sessions - the first of which is a technical skill building session where participants rotate between learning biking and swimming. Biking is an important step to motor-bike riding, which allows women mobility and access to financial opportunities in the nearby city. Swimming is a vital survival skill, especially during the flood-prone monsoon season.
In addition to these immediately practical skills, Shivajis teaches transferable skills with weekly general fitness sessions. The goal of these sessions is to introduce simple fitness plans, focusing on lifestyle (healthy diet, proper form, etc.) so that participants can adopt these practices into their at-home practices. Improved physical fitness has obvious health benefits, but it also involves setting and accomplishing goals, overcoming obstacles, teamwork, and leadership.
The program now has approximately XX participants, ranging from schoolgirls to mothers. While the expedition is described as the capstone of the project, there is huge merit in the weekly sessions alone.
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Kriya Frisbee, founded in 2015, is Kryia's only integrative empowerment through action program bringing together both sides of the societal divide. This program aims to empower women and confront gender conflict in the Mulshi valley through an inclusive approach which involves boys in the process of women's empowerment. Our sessions unite high school aged boys and girls who train to compete in national level Ultimate Frisbee tournaments. Our goal is to train a team capable of competing in a tournament in Chennai which will be an excellent experience for the boys to understand the strength of our girls and for them to create relationship that are supportive of each other pushing the boundaries of their own abilities. By involving boys in the female empowerment process we address the opposing side on the conflict and accelerate the empowerment process in a real life situation. Through the bonds that arrises from being a part of a team we hope to have an impact on men's attitudes about women as well as women's attitudes towards themselves.
Kryia Frisbee started when the need to provide a program which gave boys the opportunity to redirect their energy into something useful was brought to Kryia's attention. In December of 2015, we had our first frisbee session with boys from Paud Vocational school. Since this time we have developed a core group of guys who are now taking on a leadership role and encouraging others to join. With the turn of the new year we have begun to welcome girls onto our team.
Though only in its second year, the program is now designing a framework to assess its impact on participants lives and outline the most effective path to develop the program and make it both more sustainable and locally led. Stay tuned and experience with us the incredible journey!
