The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Stressing child rights through puppetry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 25, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Stressing child rights through puppetry

Staff Reporter

About 7,000 children throughout State covered in campaign

CAMPAIGN FOR CHILD RIGHTS: Puppet shows on child rights are conducted by Centre for Social Education and Development throughout the State.

COIMBATORE: A mass puppetry campaign against violation of child rights covering about 7,000 children throughout the State was recently conducted by the Centre for Social Education and Development (CSED), Coimbatore.

The CSED has been using puppetry as a means to reach out to the children more effectively, especially in villages and rural areas. “We have identified various issues concerning children, which would be better received by them if we put it across through puppetry,” says C. Nambi, Director of CSED.

Violence against the child at home, sexual harassment within the family, child trafficking and child marriage, atrocities at schools, discrimination of girl children in general and within the family in particular were the main issues that were highlighted in the campaign.

The children’s groups formed by the centre throughout Coimbatore district were trained in puppetry. And, the children used it as a tool to express their protest against violation of child rights, especially child labour and sexual abuse. The centre was also organising regular puppet-making workshops for college students and the youth to popularise the significance of puppetry.

The puppetry yathra, which concluded recently, focussed on the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu. “Even years after the tsunami, children in the coastal areas are going through stress and trauma,” Mr. Nambi says. The yathra covered Chennai, Puducherry, Kancheepuram, and Villupuram. It aimed to provide psycho-social care to children affected by tsunami. Child trafficking, life-skill and family-life education were also touched upon.

Children, teachers and adults in cities were also sensitised on child rights. “The main idea of the yathra was to create awareness on rights, child protection rights in particular, across various sections of society,” Mr. Nambi adds.

Handbills, posters and brochures on child rights were distributed to over 50,000 people through out the State.

The Centre for Child Rights and Development, Chennai, the Association for Community Development Services and Grassroots Foundation, Chennai, supported the campaign.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu