There are no superheroes in this comic book. There is no ‘slumdog millionaire’ either.
There are only messages for children living in slums; to stay away from tobacco and alcohol, to know ‘bad touch’ and to keep the environment clean, among others.
‘Reach out! With Veera and Chera’ — a comic book with seven episodes in it, by Loyola College student Vijay Asokan, was released at the Outreach Day–2014 celebrations of the college’s department of outreach, on Monday.
It is a simple strip in the form of an interaction between Veera, a Loyola college student who visits the slums as part of the outreach programme, and Chera, a child from the slum who handles challenges normally faced by children in slums in the cities.
“Children in slums do not know the serious problems in life. That is why the comic strip has been designed. Apart from creating awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol use, there is also an episode explaining child abuse,” says Vijay, a final-year student of visual communication.
At present, the book is in English. But the book will also be printed in Tamil as a majority of the children in slums understand only Tamil. It will be distributed free of cost, he says. The book has simple drawings with clear messages that children can easily comprehend.
Participating as chief guest, R. Lalitha, deputy commissioner (education), Chennai Corporation, said she gave up a job in a public-sector undertaking to write the civil services examination as she wanted to be in touch with people and work that gave her satisfaction.
Gomathy, a resident of Teynampet, says the department has helped the local community with revolving funds and by way of admission to poor students. Students of history also teach children in the locality.
