OCTOBER 2020
smilescapes
We are living in a constant fear of the unknown. With the threat of Covid-19 looming over us, paranoia has crept into our behaviour and vocabulary alike. There is a real and immediate need to look after our mental wellbeing. The most vulnerable of all are children – they are supposed to be out in the open. Playing and learning with friends helps them develop their social skills like nothing else. Sadly and for no fault of theirs, they are restricted to the four walls of their house.
Our Child for Child team took on the task of engaging them productively and progressively. The idea is to help children unleash their creative talents even during the lockdown. By encouraging them to express their feelings in a creative manifestation. Participation came from school partners across Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jammu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and many more regions of the country.
An 8-day national level campaign:
STUDENTS SAY… LET’S WIN THE FIGHT OVER CORONA
Outreach spanned:
4,000 SCHOOLS AND OVER 50,000 CHILDREN
They expressed in:
Paintings, sketches, essays, poems, songs, satire, slogans, cartoons and so on.
With themes like:
WASHING HANDS, BREAK THE CHAIN, SOCIAL DISTANCING, SAVE THE EARTH
Judged by renowned personalities of arts and theatre:
MS. SANGEETA KUMAR MURTHY AND MS. SHIVANI WAZIR PASRICH
We observed that children are deeply impacted in this situation. They are very eager for their concerns and views to be heard. Their paintings, poetry, the lyrics of their songs, reveal their anguish, their hope and their prayers. We are happy to note that creative engagement in such a situation gave them a healthy outlet for their emotions. We only hope that schools, teachers and parents should get together and ensure that these little voices are heard, and answered.
