“Every child has the right to dream,” says Reena Chowdhury, the founder of Bangalore-based non-profit, A Little Dream, which celebrated a decade of its existence with a cultural program starring children from orphanages and homes in the city. The program, the culmination of dance and music workshops conducted by professional artists over two months, was an extension of the raison d’etre of A Little Dream: using the arts to allow these children to express themselves.
Unlike children from privileged backgrounds who are given exposure to the arts very early, enriching their lives, Reena points out that these children often do not have access to these softer aspects of life. “I wanted to use art as a medium or tool for talking to these kids,” she says.
While A Little Dream was formally registered in 2013, the story starts much earlier, believes Reena. “We were a family that inculcated empathy,” she says, adding that she began by volunteering at the Mother Theresa home in Kolkata, where she garnered an understanding of how orphanages work. “In any orphanage, basic needs like food, clothing and shelter are taken care of,” she says. “But the soft layer is missing.”
