Spritivity as Methodology for Social Inclusion of Marginalized Populations:
A Pilot study in India
The Context - Mentortogether
Mentortogether is a project that aims to assist in urban poverty reduction efforts in India through a youth mentoring program that matches urban poor youth one-to-one to committed volunteer mentors. Mentors impart crucial academic and career information, IT and English (spoken and written) skills, and life skills like self-esteem, self-expression, teamwork and time-management, to prepare youth to compete equally after their formal education. Mentortogether is a registered Charitable Trust located in Bangalore, India.
Meyeda Jamal, a Research Associate of the London Multimedia Lab at LSE chose to collaborate with Mentortogether in developing Spritivity Workshops for disadvantaged girls because there is ample research to support the argument that healthy role models and mentors have a positive impact on the development of children/youth categorized to be at “high risk” of exhibiting behavioral and adjustment problems. The context for applying Spritivity would be the mentoring program, with workshops conducted with both groups of mentors and their respective mentees.
The Spritivity-Mentortogether Initiative
A sample of 21 girls (age group of 14 – 17 years), who live in a government run girls’ home in Mysore, was selected for the Spritiivity-Mentortogether initiative - a Spritivity Workshop - in Mysore. This age group was chosen because the girls have to leave State care at the age of 18 and therefore, are at the verge of a major transition into society. The entire workshop was designed around the mentorship programme that Mentortogether was starting with the girls.
Click here to experience the Spritivity Workshop process and content
You can also download a Detailed Report by Mayeda Jamal on the context for these Spritivity Workshops