The year 2020 has been such a tumultuous year for not just the afflicted but equally so for child education and for the children who have been practically under lockdown for almost 10 months now. With their outdoor activities curtailed & their schools shut, their happy memories are getting replaced by morbid images of the pandemic. While some students have adapted very well to the changes and practically metamorphosed into tech geniuses, there were still some who do not have the necessary devices to partake online education. CFC team decided to surge ahead with their mission of inculcating empathy amongst the privileged children and getting them galvanized for supporting the cause of Shiksha Na Ruke, an initiative for child education.
To put together an online fundraiser, the Child for Child team decided to organise a mini digital festival to say Goodbye to the year 2020 and raise awareness about child education, especially for underprivileged children. The two day digital fest over the 29th & 30th of December was also an attempt to get parents enthused about the mission of Smile Foundation and to apprise them of the work being done at the grassroots level under the Shiksha Na Ruke campaign.
By the 22nd of December posters & event details were circulated amongst 4 schools, Swami Sant Dass Public School, Guru Amar Dass Public School, Cambridge International School & A I International School. The Principals of these schools too got caught in the fervor and ensured that their students participated in the contests with equal enthusiasm. Parents too felt that that this was the moment when children from within the confines of their homes could work for something that excited them immensely and slogged just as hard side by side to ensure that their wards put together their best performances. Children who were familiar with the Zoom platform immediately registered and started preparing for the contest day.
Theme for day one Fancy dress contest was “Environment Matters”. Children were at their creative best when they came up with the most vivid costumes for the competition, and what was also apparent was the effort that had been made by parents to put together the look for their wards. Students worked hard over a week to make their costumes that reflected elements of nature. They focused on various aspects of Mother nature; from the polluted rivers, the plastic pollution on this planet, the junk food that have replaced healthy diets, the trees that are being cut irresponsibly to noise pollution in our cities.
Theme for day two for the Song & Dance competition was Contemporary & Classical. Fancy numbers from movies were discouraged. The talent that was on display over the 3 hours of the event was phenomenal. It was heartening to see how beautifully students were using the room space within their homes to put up spectacular performances. Students picked up Punjabi Folk, Ghumar, Fusion, Tandav, Kathak, Thumri and Contemporary numbers as their choice of dances. The atmosphere created by students in the rooms where they had practically set up mini stages was stunning and the efforts made by parents were also visible. For the singing competition students chose Gurbani, Bhajan & patriotic numbers as their choice of songs for the competition. Students not only sang, they also played musical instruments like the Harmonium during their performance. In the 3 hours that went by it almost felt like a concert had been put together by these students.
To regale the audience during event recesses, students from DPS Bangalore, East and Lotus Valley International School, Gurgaon performed Live as well as shared their pre recorded performances.
Agastya Trikha on Guitar & vocals, Agrim Sharma on Guitar, Tanvi Kundri on Drums, Shreyas Subramaniam on Tabla, Tanisha Mathur on Piano, Dhaiwik Naidu on Veena, Rahil SK on the Keyboards, Noel Jajo for his vocals and the combo of Mrunalini on Vocals & Varda on Guitar. Their performances were highly appreciated and added to the richness of the 2 –day event.
The digital fest went off smoothly and the judges for both the days Ms. Khushboo Singh from Jamshedpur for Fancy Dress competition and Ms. Rena Banik from Kolkata for Song & Dance competition too had a wonderful time doing their enviable task of watching, enjoying and sharing words of encouragement for the children. However, they definitely had a tough time arriving at the final decision for winners.
The winners for song competition were Shrey Thaper (1st position-Gurbani), Harleen Kaur (2nd position- Bhajan) and Nivi Thapar (3rd position- Patriotic). The winners for the dance competition were Prisha Duggal (1st position- Kathak Tarana), Maanya (1st position- Fusion), Shipra Tripathy (2nd position- Shiv Taandav), Angel Singh (2nd position- Fusion), Pranvi (3rd position- Thumri), Sukhleen (3rd position- Ghumar) and special mention to Jaspreet Aitan for his amazing bhangra performance.
The winners for fancy dress competition were Mayra Gaba (1st position- Ganga River), Aastik Gaba (1st position-Ozone Layer), Kavya (2nd position- Poly Bag), Harshika Kaul (2nd position- Reusing Newspaper), Harmanpreet (2nd position- Tree), Gurleen Kaur (3rd position- Plastic waste), Tejvinder Kaur (3rd position- Plastic bag) and Diya Gharu (3rd position- Tree)
The entire team of Child For Child too joined in from different parts of the country. The amalgamation of students and audience from pan India and the coming together of all elements for a special two day digital fest, have left us at CFC feeling extremely motivated to organise an even bigger digital fundraiser event to ring in 2021 and raise awareness about child education at the same time.
Let us all hope & pray for a better 2021! Many congratulations to all Participants and Winners of the 2-day Digital fest!
To know more about Child for Child programme visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/childforchild.html
