Child for Child
Bridging The Gap
It is a tragic contradiction of the modern Indian society that while children from middle and higher income households are being brought up accustomed to advanced technology and luxurious lifestyles, thousands of children from lower income households are struggling to meet their basic needs. Privileged children are living in an isolated space, unaware of the harsh realities of life on the street, taking their privileged status for granted. Underprivileged kids on the other hand are living in a marginalised space, unable to find a place for themselves in the mainstream society.
Smile Foundation’s Child for Child programme was initiated in 2006 as an affirmative step in this direction. Smile Foundation strongly believes that unless the privileged society is involved proactively in the process of development, sustainable change will not happen. Children have the potential to be the best change agents, be it in their family or the community in which they live. But, unfortunately, in today’s world, indifference is fast taking over the natural empathetic tendencies of children. Hence, it has become very important to channel the energy and enthusiasm of children and youth into a positive direction, by imbibing a conscious perspective and constructive value system in them. Under the Child For Child programme, Smile Foundation visits various schools and conducts engaging sessions for the young minds. It seeks to inculcate a conscience and value system in the children so that they grow up to become not only successful individuals, but also responsible citizens, good human beings and potential change makers in the future.
Our Approach
The Child for Child Programme has been designed to work at three levels:
Children:
Value education, engaging sessions and informative workshops
Schools & Teachers:
Creating crucial dialogue through seminars & workshops
Parents & Caregivers:
Sensitization through webinars and communication tools
Year at a Glance
More than 2,500 value education sessions were conducted in schools across India. Under these sessions, children are sensitised to various causes and value systems, and ushered to realise the importance of growing up as responsible citizens of the country. To engage the young minds, stories and lessons are shared from the lives of inspiring change-makers, pioneers and leaders of India who dedicated their lives to the betterment of society.
The 9th edition of Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) was organised to bring good cinema from around the world to children and youth in India and help stimulate discussion among them about vital personal, societal, moral and world issues. Over 100 critically acclaimed award winning films were showcased during the week-long festival to an audience of more than 50,000 school children and youth.
To bridge the gaps and inequalities between privileged and underprivileged children is one of the main objectives of the Child for Child programme. To take a step towards the same, interactive sessions between privileged and lesser privileged children were organised where the two came together to celebrate festivals, share experiences, exchange their knowledge and learn new skills from each other. This encouraged the children to develop empathy and friendship.
Impact 2022-23
3,00,000+
Children Engaged
1500+
Schools Covered
