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Paint Our World and ITC Sonar, Kolkata present Agapi 2
Kolkata, 18th March, 2018: Paint Our World and ITC Sonar, Kolkata present Agapi 2, an art exhibition in aid of emPOWering underprivileged children who have been through traumatic experiences like rape, abuse and becoming orphaned. Following on from the beautiful success of Agapi 1 in 2016, Agapi 2 will showcase the paintings of the Paint Our World children, together with those of established artists, who have donated their work entirely for the cause. The entire team and the ITC are contributing for no fee which means every penny raised will go to the children on the ground. It will be a beautiful evening of art, dance and celebration at the ITC Sonar, WelcomArt Gallery on 17th March from 6 pm onwards. The exhibition will also continue on 18th and 19th March 2018.
The event will be attended by eminent personalities like: Vaishali Dalmiya, Member of Legislative Assembly; Richa Sharma, Actress, Model & Mrs. India International; Bridgette Jones; Rita Bhimani; Manish Gourisaria, Chairman, Lion India and many others.
‘Agapi’ is a Greek word meaning ‘universal love’ and the evening will see the inauguration of a very distinctive art exhibition in Kolkata. An all women entrepreneurs’ team has joined hands to make Agapi 2 happen. 6 Art Galleries in the city have collaborated and over a 100 artists (local, national and international) have come together to exhibit their works together with that of the Paint Our World children. All artists have donated their artwork 100% for charity and renowned artists like Manoj Mitra have created master pieces especially for Agapi2. The exhibition has been put together with lots of love and zero monetary cost.
Paint Our World, a humanitarian project, is a Registered Charitable Trust dedicated to making a positive difference to the lives of underserved children. Its mission is to empower our most vulnerable children. The ethos is posited on the fundamental importance of emotional empowerment for a happy childhood and a purposeful adulthood – for a purposeful human life. POW has reached over 500 children. POW’s vision for India’s underserved children is that they have more equitable access to opportunities and experiences that help them become happy, stable and purposeful.
And when we bring about meaningful change to the most vulnerable children in a country of 1.25 billion people we not only bring change to next generation India but we bring change to the world. POW works to emotionally empower children who have been through trauma – this includes child sexual abuse and becoming orphaned. We provide child sensitized, psychologically verified activity therapy (story-telling, dance, music, skits, and art among others) that makes a meaningful intervention and helps the children to process and overcome the trauma they have been through.
Our curriculum is designed by India’s leading child psychologists. Our activity therapies, in subtly therapeutic and imaginative ways, teach the children safety, trust, care and the like. As we have measured, this mitigates the emotional stress commonly found in the lives of the children and in so doing translates into better self esteem and focus and facilitates the development of key skills. In the process, the workshops also become a space for children that are associated with security and fun, that are essentially what childhoods ought to be about.
We also give the children unforgettable experiences. The idea is to invest in them, in ways that parents do in their children. So whether it is a party replete with a toy train, bouncy and live DJ in a Delhi farm house; a 3D cinema trip or a River Cruise with a magic show, puppet show and tattoo artist – the Paint Our World children will take into adulthood cherished memories. At POW we live for their smiles. We believe that every child deserves utmost love and care but sadly there are still millions of children who do not receive this. POW’s vision for India’s under served children is that they have more equitable access to access and opportunities and experiences that help them become happy, stable and purposeful adults.
The current statistics are appalling. Widespread indigence amongst children in India is marked by the statistic that 20 per cent of the world’s out-of-school children are in India. Furthermore, India has the largest number of working children in the world, with nearly a third of children below 16 years working. The statistics on child sexual abuse are abhorrent. Between 2001 and 2011 there have been 48,000 cases. Moreover, there has been a 336 per cent jump in cases between 2001 and now. The Indian media is now calling these numbers an epidemic. On the number of children orphaned in India, a 2007 study has revealed the number stands at 20 million children or 4% of the population. Of them, parents of only 0.3% children have died and rest have been abandoned. At POW we are creating capabilities for children from the demographics of the aforementioned statistics to overcome trauma and as a consequence lead more empowered lives. POW also organizes fun experiences for the children – this includes cinema trips, Birthday parties, days out to parks and fun fairs and has also included a Cruise Party.
Essentially, we endeavor to give the children experiences that parents of children from more conventional backgrounds give them. Our initiative is based on teamwork that involves young people and professionals. We work in amazing teams (we call ourselves POWers!) and have reached children in Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Out teams are made up of the best professionals in their respective fields. Where volunteers come on board we follow a youth centric approach wherein young people from India’s esteemed institutions like IIT come on board. They are given training and led by POW’s professional team. At POW, we believe, this is the way forward for India, as it has the largest youth profile anywhere in the world – 65% of Indians are 35 and under.
POW was founded by Priya Virmani. Footballer Bhaichung Bhutia is also a Trustee. The project began in Sonagachi, Kolkata’s notorious red light district in 2009. In June 2013 it was a registered as a Charitable Trust. Paint Our World has tax exemption status.
Note on the Foundress: Priya Virmani was awarded a doctorate from the University of Bristol. Experiences from her childhood and her voluntary work while in school and in University led her to use her passion and expertise to conceptualize and launch Paint Our World, a scalable and effective humanitarian project that works to empower underserved children who have been through trauma. In her role as a Political and Economic Analyst she contributes to BBC Radio in London and to newspapers across the world including The Guardian and the New Statesman, London.
She is a TED Speaker and has given talks and lectures on topics ranging from globalization, motivational psychology and entrepreneurship to the non-profit sector, in various countries including India, China, the USA, the UK and the Caribbean to name a few. She has also received awards and honours in the U.K in the fields of Business and Development. In February 2018 she was awarded the ‘The Inspiring Indian in the UK’ Award for 2018 in the House of Commons in the Houses of Parliament in London.
In February 2018 she also spoke in Delhi alongside Indian and British Parliamentarians. In November 2017 she received the ‘You Are Stardust Award’ awarded by Radio Works, London for ‘making a positive impact on the world’. In January 2017, she won the All Ladies League Award for the ‘Iconic Woman Creating A Better World For All’, in recognition for her work in the areas of women and children’s empowerment and for her political and economic talks and writings.
