Kandivli school helps kids befriend strays

If you see a student playing fetch with a stray dog on a school campus in Kandivli and Koperkhairne, don’t be surprised. In an attempt to sensitise students towards stray animals, the St Mary’s High School is teaching students to befriend stray animals, administer first aid to injured animals; visit animal shelters and spread the message of animal welfare. Students have also come up with innovative ways of raising funds for animal shelters.

The school has partnered with In Defence of Animals (IDA), a non-government organisation (NGO), to sensitise students towards stray cats and dogs through awareness drives, adoption of stray animals and raising money for animal shelters. On January 8, the school will host a carnival dedicated to stray animals.

Awareness about stray animals is very low among children, said principal Asha Narayanan. “People think animals are a menace, but they need to understand why they grow in numbers. The idea is to cover up garbage bins and look after strays in the area so that their numbers don’t grow.”

Through such programmes, students are also taught to be compassionate towards animals. As part of the initiative, the school will also bring stray animals to the campus and teach students how to care for them.

“Children usually harm the strays. But we teach them to overcome their fear for these animals,” Narayanan added.
Also, to raise money to donate to animal shelters in the city, the students are going door to door, collecting old newspapers.

“People cringe at the thought of spending money from their pockets, so we ask them for old newspapers. We sell these papers and the money collected goes into the fund-raising box,” added Shah.