Guiding them to new career paths
By Asha P.Nair
27th April 2010 07:43 AM
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: They may be spending the best days of their lives in closed homes; a far cry from the life led by a normal teenager. But hundreds of inmates of various shelter homes in the State have been thrown open a ray of hope to steer their lives to safe shores.
The Social Welfare Directorate is all set to organise a massive career guidance programme for inmates of shelter homes in the state. The concept has all the support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and is being implemented by a Delhi-based NGO, Etasha Society.
It is the positive response that they received last year when a pilot programme was initiated in Thiruvananthapuram that enthused the Directorate to take up the mission in a bigger way.
Teenagers, who are on the verge of taking a new direction with regard to their education, are the lucky ones who would be benefited by the novel step. As many as 150 inmates, both boys and girls, hailing from all districts would be given guidance in choosing the best for their future, at the three-day workshops to be organised at the regional level in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
``These children do not have the exposure to the outside world and knowledge of new avenues as other children of their age have. A little help in choosing their individual paths based on their attitude and aptitude would take them a long way. Besides, the children are also excited to be part of it. It will be held before the examination results are out in May so that the children are ready with their options by then,’’ said K.K.Mony,
Additional Director, Social Welfare Directorate. Etasha, the NGO which did the pilot programme last year, has similar assignments in other states including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
It employs a scientific mode of evaluating the attitude, skill and inclinations of the teenagers, enabling them to choose a desired area where they can excel.
``We give them exercises where their tastes are known and aptitude is tested. We have charted out nearly 400 career avenues for them to choose. At the end of the programme, the children would be able to choose a minimum of three areas which matches their taste. Then, we help them to proceed with their chosen areas,’’ said Meenakshi Nayar, president of Etasha, from Delhi. According to her, a scientific approach to career guidance is not even employed by leading schools. Which means the Directorate, by organising the programme would be helping the disadvantaged youth to choose a better future, something that normal teenagers in the state miss.
The Social Welfare Directorate is all set to organise a massive career guidance programme for inmates of shelter homes in the state. The concept has all the support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and is being implemented by a Delhi-based NGO, Etasha Society.
It is the positive response that they received last year when a pilot programme was initiated in Thiruvananthapuram that enthused the Directorate to take up the mission in a bigger way.
Teenagers, who are on the verge of taking a new direction with regard to their education, are the lucky ones who would be benefited by the novel step. As many as 150 inmates, both boys and girls, hailing from all districts would be given guidance in choosing the best for their future, at the three-day workshops to be organised at the regional level in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
``These children do not have the exposure to the outside world and knowledge of new avenues as other children of their age have. A little help in choosing their individual paths based on their attitude and aptitude would take them a long way. Besides, the children are also excited to be part of it. It will be held before the examination results are out in May so that the children are ready with their options by then,’’ said K.K.Mony,
Additional Director, Social Welfare Directorate. Etasha, the NGO which did the pilot programme last year, has similar assignments in other states including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
It employs a scientific mode of evaluating the attitude, skill and inclinations of the teenagers, enabling them to choose a desired area where they can excel.
``We give them exercises where their tastes are known and aptitude is tested. We have charted out nearly 400 career avenues for them to choose. At the end of the programme, the children would be able to choose a minimum of three areas which matches their taste. Then, we help them to proceed with their chosen areas,’’ said Meenakshi Nayar, president of Etasha, from Delhi. According to her, a scientific approach to career guidance is not even employed by leading schools. Which means the Directorate, by organising the programme would be helping the disadvantaged youth to choose a better future, something that normal teenagers in the state miss.
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