Kenchamma is a 21-year-old Kishori from the SC community in Halathimalapura village in Huvina Hadagali Taluk, Vijayanagara district. She lives with her spouse and a six-year-old daughter. On observing her activeness and zeal to work for the community, Kenchamma has been selected as a member of the legal committee member in the Kalpavruksha Mahila Maha Sangha Huvina Hadagalli.
Kenchamma remembers attending the Intergeneration Dialogues (IGD) programme conducted by Best Practices Foundation, in March 2022. She reported that after the training, she spoke with a 14-year-old neighbour (Lakshmi) who very often would quarrel and fight with her mother (Ningamma), because she refused to buy Lakshmi unnecessary things such as toys, junk food or fancy clothes and accessories. Lakshmi would go extreme levels of threat, which included blackmailing her mother with suicide or running away from home. This would force her mother to do her bidding out of the fear of losing her only daughter. Kenchamma has been observing Lakshmi’s behaviour and had had a few conversations with the mother and daughter.
Kenchama decided that Lakshmi needs to attend a few trainings on violence and IGD so that she can understand her mothers’ perspectives and gain exposure. Kenchamma said “After this exposer Lakshmi changed her attitude and stopped demanding money or other luxury items from her mother, which she could ill afford. Now Lakshmi is asking me to inform her about any other programmes that she can attended and be a part of.”
Before the IGD programme Kenchamma and her spouse would often fight and become a laughing stalk for the neighbours, she has now understood that fighting cannot achieve anything so now she has started diverting her concentration towards the federation activities and her independent life.