Human Centered Design
Roshni Foundation
Roshni Foundation is an NGO for the welfare of special persons and has been working in this field since 2001. "Roshni Village" provides stable and calm living and working facilities to the special adults to nurture their healthy development.
I developed well-being strategies for students who were mentally and physically challenged. And in regards to that I introduced an entertainment workshop for students to reduce their anxiety behaviours and brought a bit of stability amongst their mental health.
Statement
Anyone can approach the world like a designer. Often all it takes to unlock that potential as a dynamic problem solver is a bit of creative confidence. Creative confidence is the belief that everyone is creative, and that creativity isn’t the capacity to draw or compose or sculpt, but a way of understanding the world.
Creative confidence is the quality that human centered designers rely on when it comes to making leaps, trusting their intuition, and chasing solutions that they haven’t totally figured out yet. It’s the belief that you can and will come up with creative solutions to big problems and the confidence that all it takes is rolling up your sleeves and diving in.
Creative confidence will drive us to make things, to test them out, to get it wrong, and to keep on rolling, secure in the knowledge that we will get us where we need to go and that we are bound to innovate along the way. It can take time to build creative confidence, and part of getting there is trusting that the human centered design process will show us, the designers, on how to bring a creative approach to whatever problem is at hand. As we start with small successes and then build to bigger ones, we will see our creative confidence grow and before long we will find ourselves in the mindset that we are wildly creative people.
Social Therapy
Social therapy centres or communities based upon anthroposophy, provide special persons an opportunity to live and work together for each other and for the environment. Through social therapy, special adults can recognise, nurture and educate their personalities with the help of their social environment. It makes use of their abilities in such a way that they feel physically, socially and spiritually engaged in their community. The residents are encouraged to apply their personal skills and creativity to make traditional and handcrafted quality products, preferably from natural materials.
These communities are based on mutual care and respect, regardless of disability or religious or racial background. Social therapists, physical structures and systems provide supporting instruments for special members in the communities to help them live independently. Social therapy centres give equal importance to the wishes of the special adults. They are allowed to take part in decision making and suggesting ideas so that they can consider themselves to be active members of their communities. Moreover, neighbours and friends are regularly invited to different cultural events to make the special persons feel more socially included in the society.
ANTHROPOSOPHY
A formal educational, therapeutic, and creative system established by Rudolf Steiner, seeking to use mainly natural means to optimize physical and mental health and well-being.
Observations
On Friday, 27th of January, 2017 - After Lunch break at Roshni Foundation, I observed while walking around the campus that students were roaming around Roshni School, even when their workshops were being conducted. They get bored as well, just like us, for having the same routine over and over again.
Students in workshops worked, but 50% of the students did not, they basically roamed around the foundation. One example in wood workshop was that all the students did only one thing, scraping the wood, as it was dangerous for them to use tools that were sharp and could be harmful, if they are not aware of what function the tool applies to. Basically, they have a lot of activities, but they do not go out much. They usually take field trips once or twice in two months, that is very low in rate as for having a change of environment. In this case, their visual environment was quite limited.
There was an incident in Roshni Foundation, a student, who passed away while drowning on one of their field trips. After that incident Roshni Foundation took extra precautions to ensure everyone's safety, and because of this incident, field trips were limited. They do visit Alhamra art council once in a blue moon for theatre or for a movie, which is located in Lahore, Pakistan.
Roshni Foundation's Schematic and overview
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30 students living capacity, divided into 2 Houses - Sumbal & Roshni House (15 students) with house fathers and house mothers. Roshni House (15 students).
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5 total workshops. Students divided into 5 workshops, having 6 students, in each workshop.
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2 Transport Buses available.
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Solar Powered Energy.
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In house feasting, including crops and dairy items.
Power Supply
Roshni school figured out a main issue that is still present in our Country, which is related to electricty. They use solar powered energy by the help of INFAQ (Punjab welfare trust for the disabled and Infaq Foundation.
Food System
In conversation with Alexander, an agriculture volunteer from Germany, I learned about the school's self-sufficient food system. The school cultivates its own crops, raises chickens for eggs, and milks cows for dairy products. On weekends, students enjoy a special breakfast of naan chunay, a traditional Pakistani dish. The school's power supply and edible structure are well-designed and have no major flaws.
Roshni Foundation's Faculty
Akeela Azeem
Textile Workshop
Shuja Masood
Bakery Workshop
Daud
Physical Instructor
Waheeda Bilal
Art Workshop
Bilal Shabir
Bakery Workshop
Shabir Ahmad
Driver & Guard
Irfan Ilyas
Wood Workshop
Serwar
Bakery Workshop
Liaqat Javed
Guard
Tipu
Wood Workshop
Alexander Keune
Organic Faming Wokrshop
Wood Workshop
Special people make wooden toys, frames, trays, etc. at the wood workshop. They promote natural materials, especially toys, to discourage plastic use. Each person has a task based on aptitude. Some sand, others oil and paint.
Art Workshop
Art provides a creative outlet for special persons, who can express themselves through art. The workshop produces handmade cards, recycled products, and paper bags that are decorated with the participants' artwork. The workshop also encourages participants to participate in art competitions to boost their confidence and self-esteem.
Textile Workshop
The textile workshop provides a harmonious environment for students to explore traditional textile techniques such as stitching, embroidery, tie-dyeing, weaving, and beading. The students create a variety of finished products, from stuffed animals and embroidered bags to scarves and pillowcases.
Organic Bakery
The bakery offers various types of whole grain bread and pastries made with organic ingredients. Special persons are involved in the entire baking process, from milling the grain to packing the bread. This experience is an important part of their learning process.
Organic Farming
The gardens and fields at Roshni provide a physical outlet for special persons and a sense of nature's rhythm. Special persons are involved in all types of agricultural work, from planting to harvesting. The gardens are maintained using a specific method that makes them inviting and productive. Farming plays an important role in community life, providing basic nutrition and a sense of accomplishment.
Findings & Research
After interviewing the students and faculty members, I accumulated insights, from which I analysed one repetitive concern in particular, which was the feeling of boredom amongst students many times and sometimes aggressiveness as well. Hence, I started focusing on developing and creating a well-being strategy for students who were mentally and physically challenged. I came upon an idea which was universal for all of the students. And in regards to that I introduced an entertainment workshop for students to reduce their anxiety behaviours and brought a bit of stability amongst their mental health and reduce the feeling of boredom.
After learning that a faculty member, Mr. Sarwar, from organic bakery workshop was proficient in English and was pursuing a master's degree in information technology, in 2017. I came up with the idea of introducing a daily visual time. I found out that there was a vacant room in the premises, where students had their birthdays celebrated or the foundation would conduct different indoor events in that space. Mr. Sarwar was aware on how to operate digital devices. Later, I learned from the foundation's management that they have a projector and access to the internet. This would provide students with an opportunity to see more visuals, whether in reality or on television, and learn from the experience. This could include documentaries, cartoons, and movies. Mr. Sarwar is familiar with the content I have provided him and was capable of operating a computer and other digital devices with ease.
This idea was used to break the boredom barrier for the students with minimal physical involvement. At that stage, I realised that this experience can have a positive impact on a student's growth level as they acquire knowledge outside of their regular routine.
I saw this as an opportunity for both faculty and students. While students may view visuals as entertainment, faculty members can also learn from them and translate that information to students in a way that is most effective for them. Learning is not limited to students; faculty members can also benefit.
This activity would also break down the barriers between workshops. Everyone would be in the same place at the same time, which could help students to engage more and form stronger bonds with their peers outside of their workshops.
Idea Implementation
I had a casual conversation with Miss. Saima Sattar Bajwa, the service support manager, about my idea of introducing an entertainment workshop as a solution to the boredom problem that the students at Roshni Foundation were facing. I proposed my idea to her, and she was receptive to it. She suggested that I also introduce my idea to Mr. Durani, the head of the foundation. I met with Mr. Durani and presented my idea to him. He was also supportive of the idea and approved it.
Entertainment Workshop
How visual content such as, movies, cartoons, and documentaries, can enhance the ability of special children with disabilities to reduce anxiety?
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Visual content can provide a safe and controlled environment for children to explore new experiences. When children watch movies or cartoons, they can experience different situations and emotions without having to actually go through them in real life. This can help them to learn how to cope with their anxiety in a safe and controlled environment.
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Visual content can provide positive role models for children. When children see characters in movies or cartoons who are facing similar challenges to their own, it can give them hope and inspiration. This can help them to feel less alone and more capable of overcoming their own challenges.
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Visual content can help children to develop coping mechanisms. Some movies and cartoons explicitly teach children coping mechanisms for dealing with anxiety, such as deep breathing or relaxation techniques. Other movies and cartoons may simply model these techniques in a way that children can learn from.
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Visual content can help children to develop social skills. Many movies and cartoons involve characters interacting with each other in positive and negative ways. This can help children to learn how to interact with others in a healthy way, which can reduce their anxiety in social situations.
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Visual content can simply be entertaining and enjoyable. Sometimes, the best way to reduce anxiety is to simply relax and have fun. Watching movies, cartoons, or documentaries can be a great way for children to do this.
First workshop session findings: In the first session, the students were shown a few episodes of Tom and Jerry. They quite enjoyed during the first 30 minutes. Later, one of the staff members suggested to show them an animated movie, Shrek. To my surprise, more than half of the students walked out on that movie. I was a bit confused to why would they walk away from an entertaining movie. I later found out that there was a language barrier. They were not able to understand english well. Some of the students were able to understand english, while some stayed, because they were amazed by the bedazzled animated visualisations. The session ended after 1 and a half hour. The first workshop was 40% successful.
Second workshop session findings: Based on the first workshop experience, I learned an interesting fact, which did not occur to me during that time, which was a language barrier between the students and visual content. Tom and Jerry cartoons were successful, because it was more visual than focused on language. So, for this second and final workshop session I brought new content with audio options that resonated with our native language, which is Urdu. I brought and presented the the second best content options, which were movies, cartoons, and documentaries translated in Hindi language. Hindi and Urdu language are quite similar. From early age, the students were also exposed to Hindi language to some extent, as we do have Indian movies available in our country, Pakistan. This new approach with the visual content solved the language problem. This time I played Shrek again, but in Hindi audio. It worked! Everyone watched the movie until the end. Later, the students asked me to play some music and we danced, before we ended our session. They were quite happy with this activity, which later led me to propose this idea to Roshni Foundation to make this entertainment workshop permanent. It was accepted!
Conclusion: Visual content can be a valuable tool for helping disabled people reduce their anxiety. By providing a safe and controlled environment, positive role models, coping mechanisms, and simply being entertaining, visual content can help disabled people to feel more relaxed and less anxious.
Disclaimer: It is important to note that not all visual content is created equal. Some movies and cartoons may actually be triggering for children with anxiety. It was quite important and crucial for Roshni Foundation to choose content that is appropriate for the individual child's needs and interests.
It was important to talk to a mental health professional first, before exposing the visual content to the students. The mental health professional would help choose the right content and to use it in a way that is safe and effective. Hence, I got my content approved by the faculty members before exposing the students with the visual content I had collected for the students.
During this experimentation, the visual content I brought was downloaded through youtube and Utorrent. The reason for using Utorrent during that time period ( 2017 ) was solely because in our country digital content was not easily available, whether they were movies, documentaries, cartoons, and especially educational content overall. It is until now, in 2023, that a lot of content can be accessed through subscription based platforms, such as netflix, amazon prime, and youtube premium.
