Cheerful banter filled the air as 38 little ones eagerly awaited the arrival of poet Sugathakumari for an interactive session organised by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare as part of its innovative Punarjani summer camp for impoverished children from slums in the city.
Abusive fathers
But as soon as Ms. Sugathakumari urged the kids to share their problems, the mood quickly turned sober. Silence descended over the gathering as heart-wrenching stories of abusive alcoholic fathers and physically ill mothers began to roll out one by one amid tiny sobs and fiercely held back tears by the children.
Women and children ultimately pay the price for the growing alcoholism that haunts the State, said Ms. Sugathakumari, after asking the kids to lodge formal complaints with the council for immediate action.
Even though the government had put in place stringent measures to control alcohol consumption, it had reached 75 per cent of households in the State, she said.
Plea for more groups
She instructed the organisers to provide the children with a helpline number which would enable them to contact the council in case of emergencies.
She also advised the council to make many more such groups for children in slums to provide them with necessary help.
She spoke of the efforts being made by Abhaya, the organisation which provides shelter to women and children in distress, and promised the children an immediate solution to their problems.
She also told them to be aware of the importance of saying ‘No’ to drugs, of speaking up in case of harassment, and learning self-defence.
The children chimed in as Ms. Sugathakumari recited a poem on Gandhiji, and as soon as laddoos (sweets) were distributed and a group photo taken, the children where back to their normal selves, laughing and talking animatedly.