SamjhoToh Express

The SamjhoToh Express journey aimed at cultivating cross border (across religion, caste, class, gender, region etc.) friendships through an experiential journey helped the youth in reflecting on and breaking the stereotypes that they hold for the ‘others’ (someone from different community, gender, caste, religion, ethnic background etc.)

The SamjhoToh journey is supported by Misereor and Oxfam.

Through a collaborative effort of 21 partners across 14 states over the course of the past year, the journey directly engaged with approximately 200 young people from diverse backgrounds over the course of the journey, and a total of over 3000 young people who participated, volunteered and interacted with and joined the SamjhoToh journey directly through 80 common action days. Through strategically placed metro ads as well targeted online outreach, the SamjhoToh Journey reached out to a staggering approximate of 23 lac people over the past year. Additionally, ads were placed on 100 auto-rickshaws across Lucknow which amplified the outreach even further.

Though it may be too early to claim any sustainable structural change in the external environment, the SamjhoToh Express journey has been successful in amplifying youth voices for social inclusion and gender justice since its initiation. At a time when there is a lot of discussion on inclusion/exclusion, the SamjhoToh journey has provided a safe space for young people to understand their own stereotypes, challenge them, build a deeper understanding of the “other”, and openly dialogue about what they think.

There have been many inspiring stories and instances of cross-border friendships which emerged out of the SamjhoToh Express journey. These stories have not only made people think and believe in the viability of platforms like SamjhoToh but have also filled our partners and us with more energy to carry on our work in this regard.