The reward promised to them for going to school regularly was a tour of the capital city. That way, when the 73 tribal children from settlements inside the Agasthyar forests in the Kottoor region were brought to the city on a two-day study tour, it was a word well kept.
The children included those who had never been to school till this academic year and drop-outs who had been persuaded to resume schooling. The children had been promised a tour by the State if they went to school. Their integration into the schooling system follows efforts by the District Child Protection Unit from January. Today, the DCPU is reaching out to 206 children in 13 settlements, with the support of MSW students of the University of Kerala and Loyola College of Social Sciences, Sreekaryam.
The children, as part of the Agasthyante Poompattakal project, also visited the planetarium, Museum and Zoo, Legislative Assembly, Padmanabhaswamy temple, and Shanghumughom. They also interacted with K. Sabarinadhan, MLA, and Kerala State Commission for Child Rights chairperson Shobha Koshy.
During the interaction, they spoke about having to walk kilometres to reach school, lack of anganwadi and having to stay away from their families in hostels from a young age, and issues arising from not being able to communicate with their families over phone. The children were also treated to Prithviraj-starrer Vimanam.
