Nurturing Hope

Relief and Recovery Initiatives in Manipur for Children and Women

At Snehadhara, we’ve embraced a different ethos — one rooted in the belief that if there’s a cause worth fighting for, if there’s a person in need, we act. We don’t wait for permission or for the stars to align; we simply begin. And miraculously, resources, support, and means seem to follow. Such is the inception and story of our project Nurturing Hope in Manipur. 

Project Overview

In response to the socio-political crisis in Manipur, Snehadhara Foundation initiated a comprehensive relief project starting in July 2023, aimed at providing Psychological First Aid and support through arts-based interventions. By September 2023, our team engaged with over 1800 individuals across seven districts, offering emotional support, coping strategies, and community-building activities. We conducted volunteer training, facilitated arts workshops, and provided humanitarian aid to children, adults, and senior citizens. The project not only addressed immediate distress but also laid the groundwork for long-term recovery and community resilience. This effort led to the establishment of the Manipur Fellowship, which further supports volunteers and local communities through structured training and ongoing support at Matai Society. In 2024 August, we started off the Arts Practices for Inclusion programme in Manipur to further support the work within relief camps, in collaboration with Matai Society. 

Read more about our presence in Manipur below. 

Intent and Objectives

The intent of Snehadhara Foundation’s relief work in Manipur was to offer psychological first aid and support through arts-based interventions in response to the displacement and loss caused by the socio-political crisis. Our objectives included:

  • Psychological and Experiential Intervention: Utilize our strengths as Arts Practitioners of Inclusion to offer counseling to affected children, youth, and women.
  • Create a Sense of Safety and Stabilization: Ensure physical and emotional safety for children and women, helping them feel secure.
  • Immediate Emotional Support: Use arts interventions to help individuals create visual and embodied representations of their experiences, facilitating discussion and understanding.
  • Develop Coping Strategies: Provide practical coping strategies, including deep breathing, grounding techniques, mindfulness practices, and engagement with music and songs.
  • Expand Social Support Networks: Connect individuals with support networks to foster a sense of belonging and aid in their recovery process.
  • Rebuild Through Community Arts: Engage in community art projects like knitting and weaving to rebuild opportunities and secure connections.
  • Provide Care and Guidance: Offer humanitarian aid, career guidance, and promote skills to build a vibrant society free from fear and trauma.

Arts Practices for Inclusion in Manipur

2024-2025

In collaboration with the Matai Society, we continue our work in Manipur, building on previous direct beneficiary work within relief camps and the Manipur Fellowship. We are expanding the Arts Practices for Inclusion (API) course to address the pressing psycho-social challenges in Moirang-Bishnupur. Amid ongoing armed conflict, pervasive homophobia, patriarchy, poverty, lack of education, and widespread joblessness, the region is grappling with severe violence, discrimination, and mental health crises, including PTSD, suicidal tendencies, and social isolation.
  
The API course equips participants with essential skills through tailored modules, immersive fieldwork, and continuous support. By leveraging arts-based interventions, we aim to create safe and nurturing spaces where youth can express themselves, heal, and connect. This initiative is vital not only for helping them navigate immediate challenges but also for fostering long-term community resilience and recovery.

“The Radicalisation of Indifference” in Deccan Herald by Dr Gitanjali G Govindrajan

Our Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Gitanjali G Govindrajan wrote an article in Deccan Herald, “The Radicalisation of Indifference,” shedding light on the growing apathy towards the suffering of marginalized communities and urging us all to stand up, speak out, and act. At Snehadhara, we believe in the transformative power of Arts Practices for Inclusion to rebuild lives. As we deepen our work in the relief camps, the article called on the reader to join the movement, share the story, and stay connected to this project. The article was published on 11th September 2024. 
  
Read the full article here. 

Relief Work in Manipur

2023-24

SF’s week-long visit to Manipur in September 2023 saw our team of practitioners offer psychological first-aid to trauma-affected children and adults through arts-based interventions. 

The team visited relief camps in two places — one in the capital Imphal and another in Moirang, an hour’s drive from Imphal. Teeming with people fleeing conflict and seeking not only refuge but a return to the normal, the tentativeness to the unfamiliar was evident among them. In meeting the children and adults, the images of violence was quickly replaced with the real aftermath that one rarely sees – that of grief, loss and suffering. To the people in these relief camps, the arts were the invitation that opened the door for expression, communication and relief. As they were introduced to music, dance, play, visual arts and voice, the children and adults stepped up and welcomed the opportunities that arose. In embracing the arts, they began to illustrate their stories, found means to heal, if only to begin the journey and seized moments of community. There was laughter and giggled in the children playing and smiles and movement among the adults while singing and dancing. The resilience of the individual and group was evident in the many spaces where the bond between people was strong and sheer will secured the way for therapeutic experiences to flow. 

Over the course of the week, the team worked across 7 relief camps in Imphal, Moirang and Kangpokpi with over 1800 children and adults. Along with working with the children, there was a one-day workshop with the volunteers at Moirang to build their capacity in terms of tools for selfcare and mental health as well as knowledge transfer on working towards therapeutic outcomes with the arts.

Manipur Fellowship with Matai Society Volunteers

2023-24

The genesis of the Manipur Fellowship after this visit, stemmed from a recognition of the critical role played by volunteers in providing relief and support to communities facing adversity in Manipur.

The Manipur Fellowship represented a collaboration of a different kind—a partnership between organizations with distinct yet complementary strengths. SF’s expertise in multi-arts methodologies provided a unique framework for engaging volunteers and communities, while Matai Society’s grassroots presence facilitated access to local communities and resources. This collaborative approach ensured that the fellowship addressed the diverse needs of volunteers and communities, fostering synergy and mutual learning between the participating organizations.

The fellowship included 20 hours of online training for the fellows for different art forms like storytelling, play, drama, visual arts, and more, that could be used with their beneficiary groups. Throughout the program, volunteers received continuous support and guidance to refine their skills and interventions in relief work. This collaborative initiative sought to not only build and refine the skills of volunteers but also promote their well-being as essential contributors to relief work in the region. Overall, the sessions created a space for participants to be heard, fostering empathy and self-reflection, and providing valuable insights into the transformative power of storytelling and creative expression.