by Prachi Mehta (Junior therapist & Narrative practitioner, Ummeed Child Development Center) Let’s talk about discourses; A system of statements, and practices that share common values. An informed medium that provides words and ideas to our typical ways of being. We come across discourses in ways that could be smaller and neglected or bigger and…
Creating Islands of Hope and Possibilities
Pop-up library at Ummeed “Books are a doorway into imaginary worlds which help keep boredom away.” said a young neurodivergent person who frequents the pop-up library at Ummeed. This space was created with the hope to create an environment that deconstructs the ideas of a typical library and provides a space for young people to…
Introducing the Gender Journal
Sometimes stories are destroyed, and sometimes they are never uttered in the first place; either way something very large is irrevocably missing from our collective histories. – Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House Some stories remain unspoken, shrouded in layers of silence. And the stories we do hear about gender are often limiting and…
Map for times when Hopelessness Visits – Zine Launch
On 31st March, 2021, the Mental Health team at Ummeed Child Development Center launched a zine called ‘Map for times when The Hopelessness Visits’. It’s an activity document you can engage with to have conversations about hope and hopelessness in your work with people and communities or for times in your life when hopelessness visits….
Classrooms that center Students’ Expertise: Team Apni Shala
In our conversations with children and young people, for many of them, school is a space they have constant access to, that can help establish notions of what safety or a sense of belongingness feels like. Schools and classrooms are striving to be more nurturing and safer spaces for children, and the team at Apni…
#Throwback to Weaving our Voices, 2020 Pre-Conference Workshops
In what seems like a lifetime away, this time last year the conference team at Ummeed Child Development Center was gearing up for our Second International Narrative Conference – Weaving our Voices, 2020. It was six days of witnessing narrative ideas shape in diverse contexts, meeting our narrative community from across the country and the…
Love, Pleasure and Friendship: A Panel with Young People
Love, Pleasure and Friendship: A Panel with Young People Topic: Panel discussion on what does love, pleasure and friendship mean for young people with disabilities? Language: Hindi Panelists: – Darshana Ramgiri – Economics student, fashion blogger and content creator– Kavya – Cat mom, loves movies and draws sometimes– Sanket Gala – Student of TYBA Psychology,…
Love, Pleasure and Friendship: For Children and Young People with Disabilities
Back in September, 2020, we did a week-long conversation, events, workshop with caregivers on ‘love, pleasure and friendship’ for children and young people with disabilities. In this video, professionals working with children and young people with disabilities, their families and communities around them discuss why is it important to talk about love, pleasure and friendship…
Wisdom from the Young and the Disabled: In Conversation with Kavya
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –That perches in the soul –And sings the tune without the words –And never stops – at all – And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –And sore must be the storm –That could abash the little BirdThat kept so many warm – I’ve heard it in…
What does Mental Health look like for Caregivers of Children with Disabilities?
What does Mental Health look like for Caregivers of Children with Disabilities?Language: HindiPanelists:– Nirmala Gupta– Sakshi Gurav– Manisha Kamble– Shital Gala Facilitators:– Aditi Jha, Social Worker, Ummeed Child Development Center– Jill Sanghvi, Counselor and Trainer, Ummeed Child Development Center This panel is part of an initiative supported by HT Parekh Foundation. देखभालकर्ताओं के लिए मानसिक…