DEPRIVED CHILDREN
TO BE THEME OF RASHTRIYA BAL SANSKAR SANGAM
"Deprived Children"
is the theme for the "Rashtriya Bal Sanskar Sangam"
being held in Delhi on Children’s Day, 14th November.
This ‘Sangam’ is an attempt to draw the attention of the society
and the nation to children in difficult circumstances. The event
will address the need for giving a helping hand to deprived children
and the importance of education for their all round development.
The programme will also act as an advocacy event for Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) which is an effort to universalize elementary education
by community ownership of the school system and to provide an
opportunity to the poorest children with focus on education, participation
of children from SC/ST, religious and linguistic minorities, disadvantaged
groups and the disabled children. The Departments of Women and
Child Development, Elementary Education and Literacy and the National
Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD)
are jointly organising this event.
4000 handicapped,
deprived, and destitute children in the age group of 8-14 years
from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh and West Bengal, would be participating in the programme.
Of these, 2000 would be from Delhi and neighbouring areas. The
remaining 2000 children would be from the other States of the
country.
The children
would be involved in a number of activities for 6 days culminating
in the final event on the 14th. They would be involved
in prayers, yoga, patriotic songs and a variety of cultural activities,
competitions and interactive workshops. The activities planned
include Bal Panchayat, an interactive drama by children expressing
their problems and concerns and raising issues related to their
rights; interactive educational workshops for children to provide
exposure to creative skills and life skills for awakening social
awareness; competitive events related to drawing and painting,
sports, games and cultural activities to draw out the potential
of children; exposure visits to historical places and museums
including Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Rajghat, National Museum, Craft
Museum and National Science Centre, and a health check-up of the
children by a team of doctors. A wall of dedication, essentially
a visual expression by children relating to their perception of
their social environment on a big canvas, facilitated by Artists
from College of Arts, is also envisaged.
The Prime Minister
will be lighting the "Gyandeepa", symbolising the Nation’s
commitment to spreading the light of education for all children.
A special postage stamp would also be released by the Prime Minister
to mark the occasion of Universal Children’s Day on 14th
November, 2002. Information Stalls of the activities of the NGOs
and key government organisations working for children are also
going to be set up.
