Amid rising crime against children, the Childline Tiruchi carried out a mega mobile awareness campaign on Tuesday sensitising public to a mosaic of issues connected with children and the role played by the organisation in helping children in distress.
The one-day “Childline Se Dosti” campaign involving Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel of Tiruchi Division was conducted on board trains from Tiruchi to Chennai Egmore and back.
A team of Childline volunteers and RPF personnel travelled in the Chennai-bound Vaigai Express from Tiruchi Junction driving home a slew of issues connected with children and their welfare. Volunteers went to every coach explaining to the travellers about Childline, its helpline number, and the role played by it in helping children in distress. The travellers were asked to alert the Childline (1098) or the police if they came across crimes against children. Besides circulating pamphlets containing social messages to the rail passengers, the volunteers alighted at major stations en-route distributing leaflets among the public. The focus was on a host of issues including the need to check the social evil of child marriage, sexual abuse against children, and child labour, said the Childline coordinator Albert Manoharan.
The Childline is a 24-hour emergency outreach service for children in need of care and protection. The whole idea of carrying out the mobile campaigns in moving trains was to take child protection and child rights to public domain, said Godwin Premsingh, Director (Nodal) Childline, Tiruchi.
The RPF was involved in the drive as they had rescued many runaway children in railway stations and handed them over to the Childline, said the Divisional Security Commissioner. RPF, Tiruchi Senthil Kumaresan who took part in the campaign along with the Childline volunteers. The team members returned to Tiruchi in the Pallavan Express.
