The Women and Child Development Department will organise a festival for promotion of talents of children living in government-run institutions in the State.
The ‘Juvenile Fest’ for children in need of care and protection under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, will be held from January 22 to 24 at Government Model Higher Secondary School for Boys, Chala, here.
Competitions will be held in 20 events in three categories —sub-junior, junior, and senior — across three venues.
Nearly 1,000 children are expected to take part in the festival, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the three days.
Exhibition
Other programmes will also be held as part of the fete.
These include an exhibition of paintings by children of Government Children’s Home here.
The State-level launch of Balanidhi, a fund for meeting various needs of the children, will be held on the occasion. Singer K.S. Chithra will be the brand ambassador of Balanidhi, a juvenile justice fund that is mentioned in the JJ Act.
Funds will be raised from the public for treatment or emergency needs of the childen.
Padhananidhi, an education sponsorship scheme, will be also launched.
Under Padhananidhi, the government will provide ₹2,000 each month to 1,000 children in the State.
Ujjwala Balyam
Ujjwala Balyam that will also be rolled out on the occasion will see one child with exceptional achievements from each district being presented with a cash prize of ₹25,000, a certificate, and a trophy.
A trophy will be presented to the best government-run institution for children in the State.
Felicitated
Eight children who have won the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement will be felicitated.
Those who have won a gold medal will get a stiped of ₹7,500 and those with silver will get a stiped of ₹5,000 till they turn 18.
Prizes to the winners of a cooking competition organised by Kudumbasree and Integrated Child Development Services will also be given away on the occasion.
