Nikita Barde recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting, by presenting puppet shows at El Centro Family Services, an organization in Trenton that provides family services to families in need, most of which are Spanish-speaking. A member of Troop 70677 led by Louisa Ho, she earned both the Girl Scout bronze and silver awards when she was younger. A senior at High School North, Barde is a member of Model United Nations, Future Problem Solving, and National Honor Society.
Through more than 80 hours of community service, Barde was able to engage the children with educational activities over the summer by presenting them with entertainment and visual arts with valuable morals and life lessons. After hours of building and painting, she created a puppet theater, scripts, props, and backgrounds for each of the stories she presented, which included Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, the Three Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
She worked with Maria Duarte, a volunteer at El Centro, to identify the needs of the children. “You may have read that libraries throughout the city are closing, and locations for young children are limited, therefore there are not many places where children can enjoy a fun time with books and entertainment,” says Duarte. “By creating this puppet theater for us, you have also created a learning environment for our children, which they can enjoy and learn at the same time”
Classmates Bolong Xu, Rohit Tallapragada, and Shruti Marathe presented the puppet shows to children, ages 3 to 10. After the presentations, Barde encouraged the children to create their own stories. The children were able to take the initiative and use their creativity to make their own stories and puppet shows.
“This project has enabled Barde to look beyond the environment she is used to, and it exposed her to the needs of individuals outside our community,” says her father Rajesh. “I believe that she addressed two subjects which she truly cares about — education and children — and took the initiative to better her community through this project.” Her mother Shalini and her sister Anisha also supported her throughout this endeavor.
“I believe that carrying out this project really improved my leadership skills along with my organization, communication, and planning skills,” says Barde. “I hope that other individuals in my community will reach out for issues they are passionate about and make a difference.”
For information about joining Girl Scouts in West Windsor or Plainsboro as a girl or adult volunteer, call Ho at 609-371-2119 or E-mail girlscoutswwp@verizon.net.
