Pavan Kaushik (Corporate Communications Head at Hindustan Zinc) is a team member at Vedanta Khushi. Pavan shares his experience and feeling what he saw at on-location workshop organized for Street Children.
INDIACSR News Network
UDAIPUR: Vedanta Khushi, a CSR Project of Vedanta Group, organized an on-location workshop with the street children of Malla Talai in Udaipur on 24-25 August 2012. The workshop was aimed to sensitize these children who were in the age group of 2-15 years about the health-education-nutrition issues. Sometimes you feel happy when your entire presumptions get defeated. The same happened with Vedanta Khushi team who were surprised to see the strong gathering of 125 children, present with their parents to undertake this workshop. Also came handy the cooperation by youths of the village who were too keen for such educational event for the village children.
The first daunting task was to visit the place and meet the children and assess their interest. A small team of Vedanta Khushi went to see the place and spoke to the people around. Mere mention of the activity was enough to excite children and within minutes our local contact Kaalu Ram was successful in gathering about 75 children. We searched for a suitable place for the workshop but could find only one place which was near the village dust-bin. Kaalu Ram along with Kailash, another villager, and few more youths promised to get the place cleaned up for the workshop, the next day. We decided that to cover the place we would put-up panels and mats for the children.
We promised to come back in the evening to meet these children and speak to them on health & hygiene, as our first step towards their health. Meanwhile another team went for the purchase of certain hygiene items from the market like soap, tooth-brush, paste, comb etc.
In the evening Vedanta Khushi team reached the location and was just surprised to see the entire group of children just waiting for us. We met them and could identify few very brainy children who were only willing to get admission in the school, “Sir, Mujhe School Jana hai Par Yahan School Nahi Hai” was the chorus of most of the children.
Children were untidy and it seemed had not taken bath for days. Their clothes were dirty and teeth smelled. We were here to find KHUSHI in these children. Their condition only made us determined to conduct a successful workshop.
Vedanta Khushi team spoke to them about the importance of brushing teeth daily, taking bath, wearing clean clothes and combing their hair. The good habits and etiquettes were also part of our briefing. When we asked them how many of them touched the feet of their parents every morning, only few could reply, but promised that they would do so from now on. After speaking to them in length, we gave the hygiene items to all the children.
Children promised that when they would come for the workshop the next day, 25August, 2012, they would come all after taking bath, brushing their teeth and wearing clean clothes. Their promise was to be seen to be believed.
(Photo Caption: Vedanta Khushi team during the workshop with Children)
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