Posters, Panel discussions, Bookmarks, “Chatting-over-Coffee”, Street plays…
If you’re sensing a “much ado about nothing”, read on…
- Two million Indian kids will die before they celebrate their first birthday
- More females will be killed at birth
- At least 35 million minors (aged 6-14 years) will not attend school
(Simulated futuristic statistics of the Indian minor)
Now doesn’t that paint a picture befitting our national “inflated” progress?
And if your mind sees red in this, you know what’s following-
History proudly recounts having used, abused and exploited children. The little souls agonise for reasons too many: hunger, homelessness, ill health, mortality incidence and several other woes entailed.
A pitcher full of innocence, trust and hope, yet we choose not to hold out even a promise of education to them. They deserve a childhood of dreams, an adolescence of opportunities and a life thus designed. They are citizens in their own right and are entitled to the full spectrum of human rights. Unless we take a stand for child rights we can expect nothing better than the continued tag of a ‘developing’ nation.
Which is essentially why, CSA came out with bookmarks bearing messages of child rights.
A bit of a background now–The Charter of Child Rights (CRC) declared the following as child rights across the world:
1. Right to Survival (to health, nutrition, name and nationality)
2. Right to Development (to education, care, leisure and recreation)
3. Right to Protection (from exploitation, abuse, neglect)
4. Right to Participation (to expression, information, thought and religion)
Last week, our major focus at CSA (Christ College) was to recognize every child’s right to education. We put up street plays that utilised contemporary techniques to grab students’ attention and eventually strike a chord in their hearts. ‘Chatting over Coffee’ saw spirited discussions voicing the relevance of education for holistic development. The panel discussion was centered on the topic, ‘Child Rights: Where did we go wrong?’ Subject experts namely, Kavita Ratna (Concern for Working Children), Usha and Nitya (Alternate Law Forum) triggered thought provoking discussions, by presenting their experiences.
From 8th to 12th July, CSA did their little bit to make the college sensitized on the various issues surrounding children.
By Shalini Chandy
csablog.christuniversity.in 