The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It is Childline Day today

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Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It is Childline Day today

Staff Reporter

The date 10.9.08 resembles the helpline number 1098

Chennai: The Chennai unit of Childline, the emergency toll free helpline for children, receives an average of 600 calls every day.

T.Thiripurasundari, the head of Childline’s southern regional office, said that there was growing awareness about support for children in distress but the issue needed much more attention.

Human chain

“We plan to celebrate Wednesday as Childline Day as the date 10.9.08 resembles our helpline number 1098,” she said. A human chain by volunteers and college students would be organised from Labour Statue to Gandhi Statue off the Marina at 2 p.m. to commemorate the day.

The event would be inaugurated by Child Welfare Committee Chairperson P. Manorama.

SMS campaign

An SMS awareness campaign would be taken up in association with Tata Indicom and Vodafone.

Childline receives calls relating to problems of street children, child labourers, abused children and disabled children or children seeking emotional support.

Often, distressed children themselves call the helpline.

In one of the cases, a class X student from Korukkupet called 1098 seeking help from being married off to her maternal uncle.

She was rescued and sheltered in Don Bosco Anbu Illam. She is now in class XII.

Since its inception in 1999, Chennai Childline has received 2.56 lakh calls, Ms. Thiripurasundari said.

The 24-hour helpline works in association with seven non-governmental organisations in the city for the care of rescued children.

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