An Out Reach programme at the MGR Nagar Corporation School was initiated by me along with Vishruth, Keerthana Kumar and Priyadarshini.J, the student volunteers from PSBB KK Nagar, on September 11, with the help of the school management authorities.
Being the Horlicks WizKid representing Chennai this is one of my projects on Child Rights awareness.
Through meaningful dialogue, the volunteers made a promising start to create an awareness in the students of the less privileged section on topics like Freedom , Responsibility and Child Labour.
Students were informed about the existence of a set of Child Rights that is given to children, world over, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion so as to lead a happy and safe life – the right to food, clothing, medical aid, education, leisure and to lead an abuse free life.
The importance of the Right to Education and the role of Education in promoting the progress of an individual and country were stressed. The implications of Child Labour on their future life were explained to the students and they were urged to complete their education.
The aspect of gender discrimination prevalent in the society, with reference to Education of girls was touched upon. The students actively participated in the resulting discussions
The feedback received from the participants were really encouraging. One of the students said, “We must study hard to lead a good life and be responsible citizens.”
Another added to the sentence “To make our country better!”
Another girl from the Corporation school said, “It is very important for girls to receive a proper education so that they are able to stand on their own feet. Parents should not force their daughters to work instead of studying”.
When we asked what Education meant to them, a student said “Education is understanding what is taught to you and using it”.
The meaning of Freedom was stressed and the students were asked what freedom meant to them. A student had the reply ready – “Freedom means ability to think and talk on my own”.
The team distributed handouts and posters on Child Rights to the students.
This ongoing venture was initiated to create awareness on Child Rights, Child Abuse and aims to provide a large scale impetus to ensuring that every child is given adequate opportunities towards self-development.
How did the child rights team felt about this initiative? All of us agreed in unison that such programmes will help bridge the gap in the society and the sheer joy of sharing knowledge with their not-so-privileged peers gives us immense happiness and satisfaction.
This is just a small beginning for the big plans that we, the student volunteers dream of!