“ children must be taught how to think not what to think”
– Margret Mead
CRY along with
volunteers came up with a consent that it is very important for children to
know about their rights so that they can prevent themselves from exploitation
and to make it a fun activity , more interactive and most importantly to grab
children’s attention it was decided to
show them animated videos which addressed
common issues that affect children
and it was a privilege for me to be part of this journey.
I along with my team when reached in schools was greeted
with hugs and beautiful smiles. Even scorching heat could not low down their enthusiasm for sports
seeing them engaged in various
physical activities took me to memories
of my childhood. All students got very
excited after seeing screen and one of
the little girl in crowd exclaimed with delight , “ CHOTA BHEEM DIKHANE WALE
HO NA”.
We presented three videos in front of them. First video was
about importance of education in a child’s life. It made significant mention of how education can help a child to
achieve anything in life. Following this
an interactive session was conducted where students mentioned that they worked
after their classes. They were explained
that at this age education is more important and they should work only on this .
Second video was on child safety. This video passed on
message of basic Do’s and Don’ts that are usually told by our parents and
teachers. It emphasized on facts like Why chocolates and candies from strangers
should not be accepted from strangers , why they should avoid walking alone at
night, why they should never accept lifts from strangers, and always follow
their parents instructions was explained in detail to them. They were also
enlightened about the fact that inappropriate touching and caressing by is also
not acceptable. The CHILD HELPINE number, 1098 was also introduced to them.
Third video was about drugs and alcohol abuse. During
interactive session many kids told
about their family members
consuming Tobacco and alcohol but they
weren’t aware about the fact that how
life threatening it could be. Some of the kids even told that they were offered
alcohol by their friends. During
interactive session children were told about threats and repercussions
that they can have in their lives after consuming these hazardous
things. They took oath and said ‘ NO’ to any form of drugs .
CRY Pune
Volunteer Siddhant says “ Regular interaction with students for 15
months and community surveys gave us sneak peek into their home front. Teens looking up to
elder family members for tobacco and
gutkha , alcohol was everywhere. We took it on us to waive them away from bad
habits and it was really moving to see their eyes lit up when they were able to
relate to video. Awkward silence after video suggested that there was something
that clicked in their mind and our goal was achieved. For younger kids it was
all about danger stranger. Excitement during and after video was refreshing.
Their responses were filled with innocence and their favorite Tais and Dadas (us).Children were asked to scream for help whenever in need. Recent
fad was about taking selfie. People have habit of taking selfies with random
people but when we asked children would
they click selfies with random stranger answer in unison was “NO” which gave us
a hope.”
It was a serious
session in which students were
briefed about importance of education , their only job
should be to study and not working . Volunteers used innovative idea to
convey message through animated videos so that children grasp the message more
and understand the intensity of conveyed message. Children were asked to
understand the message and practice the same. These effective sessions should
be conducted very frequently with children, so that they grasp all Don’ts implement the same and save themselves
from exploitation like child labor,
child abuse and not get vulnerable
to drugs.
