Muthu

I am 29 years old and unmarried. I was born and lived most of my life in an estate, where my father worked as a mechanic. I was one of the few youth from the estate who managed to get through the Advanced Level Examination in Commerce . . . [Then] a Catholic Priest from India was teaching in my school and he arranged a scholarship for me to go to university in south India; there I completed both Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Commerce.

As a student, I joined a street theatre group that was active in the dalit [lower-caste] movement and I acted in several street plays that addressed human right violations, campaigns for increasing reservations for dalits in the universities, and discrimination against dalits in workplaces. Even though I studied commerce for better employment prospects, I was much more interested in art, acting, and singing. I returned to Sri Lanka and tried to get jobs in the private sector.

However, I found quickly that private sector employers often check your family background, and consider whether you had studied in an elite school. I realized that, being a person from an estate, I had limited chances there. Then Ravi introduced me to the Centre for Development Alternatives, and they invited me to help them develop street drama as part of the RHIYA project. Initially, I knew very little about reproductive health, but I learned a great deal from Ramesh and Ravi, the counsellors in the estates, and the peer educator training program. And I had a good understanding of artistic and musical traditions in the estates. Rhythmic movement, singing and knack for drumming are in our blood. The beating of the tappu is in all religious festivals, weddings, secular ceremonies, and even funerals. I knew there is a lot of artistic talent among youth there. My role was to work with peer educators, counsellors, and project staff to identify the key issues to be addressed and help them evolve a street theatre tradition that is both entertaining and communicative. I taught the estate youth how to act, sing, and do makeup for a street play. I myself acted as a lunatic in the opening brainstorming episode in the Nayapana street play. I feel proud about our artistic productions and I feel the full potential of street theatre in the fi eld of adolescent sexual and reproductive health is yet to be realized.

PDFs/55157_Case.Studies.ENABL%20low.pdf

UNFPA Publication, « Good Practices for Creating an Enabling Environment », p. 10.