Painting children’s world

Priya Virmani

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Swati Rai

A PhD from the University of Bristol, UK, Dr Priya Virmani is the founder and director of Paint Our World, a humanitarian art project that helps children overcome traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse, etc. Giving children a ray of hope and an outlet from traumatic experiences through art, Paint Our World (POW) was created to improve lives of the many unfortunate children.

The project was founded by Priya Virmani in Sonagachi, Kolkata’s notorious red light district, and became an official charitable trust in June 2013. In this small space of time, POW has expanded and worked with children in Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The programme has included teams from  esteemed institutions, such as IIT, who are then trained to work with children.

 A 2007 study revealed that cases of child sexual abuse have risen by 336 per cent since 2001 while four per cent of India’s children are orphans. In tough times such as these, POW aims to emotionally empower children, who have suffered traumatic experiences, including child sexual abuse and become orphaned and help them improve their quality of life. Using a curriculum designed by leading child psychologists, POW has created a programme of child-sensitised activity therapy. This includes everything from storytelling to dance, music and artwork. Activity therapies aid children in learning trust, care and other interpersonal skills. 

  “The curriculum is divided into semesters of three months each. Each class is divided into three parts, and follows a theme. It begins with a game, moves on to the main emotional skill, and ends with kids sharing their learning experience with the class”, elaborates Priya. These methods have been clinically measured to improve children’s self esteem, focus and key skills, allowing them to look forward to a better future. The project aims to create a safe environment for children. A solace from the dangers, which they have previously faced, POW offers children a fun, secure space in which to really be kids. It also provides children with valuable childhood memories that they would have otherwise missed out on. Experiences at POW have included cinema trips, birthday parties, days out to parks, rock climbing, fun fairs, a cruise party, and even a fun-filled ‘learning’ visit to radio and television studios.

“One POW worker was especially touched when a child came to her after the collective birthday party in a Delhi farmhouse and said she had never imagined she could ever have so much fun,” shares Priya.

Priya, who is also the founder and director of Empower Art, a company providing corporate consultancy and training to maximise company efficiencies through experiential processes, adds, “We aim to do good work throughout the country to produce a new generation of happy, stable and purposeful adults.”

Priya talks about the support she has received from the society in her endeavour, “People have come forward to help with special events at times and many companies have lent support too.”

According to Priya, it is mainly students  who volunteer for these activities. She adds that they have to undergo a rigorous training before they join any of the POW endeavours. She sums up by saying that ‘it’s great to see ‘Young India’ come forward and take initiative to make India a better place for all!