Conversation with a born Fun Adult

When we say someone is a 'Fun Adult', we mean that they are simultaneously a facilitator, mentor, partner, cheerleader, young-at-heart, believer and a cool uncle or aunt that young people look up to. We work very hard to create Fun Adults at Shift, but sometimes we find that some adults just get it. They are just born with it! 

Last month we got an email from one of our champion Fun Adults in Bhutan, Deepika, who had just heard from Gajendra, an educator. Gajendra was present at one of the Shift workshops and was, 

“really inspired and wanted to adopt and adapt the Shift model for social and environmental activism or learning”.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn more from this born Fun Adult. We spoke to each other over a video call. The transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Could you tell me a bit about yourself?

I'm Gajendra Rai, and I am currently a teacher at Damphu Central School.
I teach chemistry and ICT.

Could you talk about how you saw Shift and what you thought of it? Basically what inspired you to connect with Deepika and initiate that conversation??

I feel Shift is really inspiring, especially because you don't need lots of things to do it. Even within a short duration of time, the youths can come up with very creative initiatives and solutions on whatever issues they feel is appropriate.

And another thing I also feel is that this is one of the powerful programs where the voice of the youth has been captured and they are given the freedom to share their thoughts, discussions, and ideas for collaboration.

As a much closer observer and a mentor to most of these students, what were your observations and reflections on how young people experience Shift?

You know at the end of the program, I could feel that the individual participants in the group felt that their voices had been heard; even those that were very silent by nature. I asked some of them “So how did you feel today?” and they shared that “Today, I feel I could thoroughly express myself. My thoughts have been counted”. 

I feel that I also have to give the ripple effect to Shift but before I could even share my thoughts the participants were coming up to me and saying “Sir, why don’t we combine Shift with a project that we already have that has been funded to make it even bigger?” Shift program has ignited inspiration within them. They don't want to stop. They want to involve as many of the people as they can. 

What challenges do the young people and students that you teach face?

As an educator, I also had that same question for myself. How can we improve the mentality of always blaming the systems or blaming themselves? Basically what I feel is that they are lacking the inspiration within and they reach a point where they stop believing in themselves. They are not taking up the opportunities. They have the talent but lack the confidence in themselves to come forward. They need the guidance. This changed when I experienced Shift last time because they were trying to move towards positive change and also wanted to transfer that type of quality to their friends. Youth-to-youth bonds are much stronger than the elder-to-youth ones.

Is there anything else that you would like to add that I haven't had the chance to ask you?

I'm also planning to include Shift as a Professional Development course for my teacher colleagues and for our school leaders, captains, and counsellors because I feel that it would be useful in resolving any sort of problems if they have the skills nurtured by Shift.