Imparting edn through theatre

Hyderabad: The team of Center for Arts Media and Social Welfare (CAMS) is striving hard to bring changes in the society through the medium of theatre arts. The CAMS is actively involved and is working for social initiatives in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The organisation takes up awareness campaigns and highlights issues like importance of education, health, hygiene, environment, etc for the underprivileged sections. They visit slums and organise theatre workshops, play productions, and organise symposiums and seminars for children in both urban and rural areas.

The organisation is run and supported by theatre practitioners, research scholars and students and is guided by the faculty of University of Hyderabad on various campaigns and awareness programmes. CAMS actively promotes ‘Theatre-in-Education’ concept, which is popular across the globe, for the benefit of people from underprivileged areas on important social issues concerning education, health, environment, race, religion and gender.

These are monitored by trained faculty.

Over the last few years, CAMS has been working with children from orphanages and urban poor areas like Kawadiguda by providing access to primary education, computer literacy, vocational training and training in performing arts in collaboration with other organisations. Children have been trained in theatre by CAMS and given opportunities to perform at state and national level cultural festivals and competitions.

Members of the community have appreciated the efforts of the organisation and encouraged them to continue their work.

Previously, they have done a production oriented workshop play for APSA Rainbow home for girls with whom they are associated since the last seven years.

The play ‘Naa Valla Kaadhu’ (‘It is not possible by me’), is based on a Korean short story and this was developed by children themselves in the workshop designed and directed by Thiruveer. This is the second major play with them. The first one was, ‘The Missing Father’ which was translated in deccani Urdu.

Recently, ‘Naa Valla Kaadu’ was selected for ‘Rangaprabhath’ national children theatre festival in Trivandrum, Kerala. Due to language barrier they narrated the story in Malayalam to the audience before the play started.

Rangaprabhath is a 44-year-old organisation working for children theatre; it was started in 1970 as an experiment in the stimulation of personal growth of children.

The man behind the idea is Dr Mohammed Altaf, who initiated the CAMS in 2002. He worked alone when the organisation was launched. Now, CAMS has 10 plus members.

“I wanted to bring social change from my childhood. I believe if we motivate children from childhood they will have a better future. I work and whatever I earn I put a part of it in the organisation,” says Mohammed Altaf, director, CAMS.