Child's play!

Six ex-students of the Colaba Municipal Secondary High School have come forth to create awareness about issues that are plaguing today's society. These volunteers interviewed 300-odd students from their school to understand the troubles that they are facing in their families.

Pradeep Kaale, a volunteer, says, "When we spoke to the children, we understood that the major issue is alcoholism. Most of these kids have alcoholic fathers, who, in a drunken state, beat up their wives. So, we have decided to conduct this rally with 25 children to create awareness about alcoholism."

The volunteers wrote up a short skit that was performed by the children, prepared placards that were held out during the rally and created catchy slogans that all of them chanted. The rally was conducted in the chawls and slums of Colaba, Badhwar Park and Cuffe Parade. The skit showed how domestic violence occurs daily and how women, both young and old, are taunted and harassed on the streets.

Aparna Jagtap, another volunteer, said, "Harassment against women has increased quite a bit. Hence, we felt the need to put our message across in areas where such incidents occur very often. Also, involving the children in it helps them understand the problem as well."

The kit and the slogans were prepared especially in Hindi and Marathi so that the target audience could connect better with them. Few of the slogans like 'Nahi chalegi nahi chalegi, gharelu hinsa nahi chalegi', 'Daru soda, parivar joda', etc. took the audience by surprise. The children acted really well and also enjoyed the attention they received from the audience.

The rally was supported by both Colaba and Cuffe Parade Police Stations, which willingly gave the permissions for conducting the rally and promoting a social cause. Sharad Barde, Senior Police Inspector, Cuffe Parade Police Station, says, "We always support, encourage and appreciate these kind of initiatives. The volunteers and the children did a good job."