Power of a safe space

Dr Connie K Chung, the author of When We Thrive, Our World Thrives, hopes that young people facing adversity will be inspired by the stories in her new book

In the introductory chapter of her book, When We Thrive, Our World Thrives, Dr Connie K Chung makes this admission. “The first time I met Vishal, he made me cry,” writes the writer and educator, who recently was part of a panel at the Bangalore Literature Festival. In the same chapter, she goes into the story that triggers this emotional outburst. She says she was visiting Delhi as the associate director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was planning to write a second book in a series of shifting education systems.  

Their Indian partners, she writes, had identified Dream a Dreamas the organisation in India that was furthest along in terms of providing professional development to teachers that enabled them to address the needs of the whole child. That was why she was meeting Vishal Talreja of Dream a Dream, an Indian non-profit that seeks to transform underprivileged children’s education experience. “When I saw what Dream a Dream was doing, I was impressed with their programming and the impact it had,“ she says. 

It was at this meeting that Vishal shared the story of Prasanna, a young boy who grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father. He was beaten regularly at school, making him loath to attend it, a narrative that changed considerably after Dream a Dream’s intervention. “His story struck a chord that was both personal and professional,” she writes.  

Prasanna’s life story went on to become the first one documented in her book, co-authored with Vishal, that delves into inspiring stories of 20 programme alumni of Dream a Dream, “It is a beautiful story about the power of creating a safe space for young people,” she says, talking about Prasanna’s life. And there are many others (like this),” she says.  

Connie, a Foster America Fellow and former associate director of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Global Education Innovation Initiative, has spent over 20 years studying what organisations should be doing to help support young people. Dream a Dream, she says, has been doing “deep and good work” for over 20 years. By chronicling its work and sharing the success stories of young people who’ve been touched by the organisation, she hopes that other “young people facing adversity would be inspired by their stories and find the support they needed,” says Connie, who started her journey as a classroom teacher.  

According to her, they took a research-based approach to this book, choosing and interviewing young people from diverse backgrounds. “We chose the young people to tell a breadth of stories about Dream a Dream programming, “ she says, adding that it was a collaborative effort with many staff members of the NGO helping with transcription, translation and overall design.