Mumbai: Child Rights & You (CRY), an NGO, will be attempting to set a Guinness World Record next week, while also encouraging the public to make a gesture of solidarity for children and their right to a happy childhood.
The record they’re going after is most people wearing sock puppets in a single venue, set in 2016 by a community in Queensland, Australia, led by a children’s author who got 365 people to wear sock puppets at the launch of one of his books. CRY hopes to get at least 400 people to participate in its attempt, at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, on the afternoon of November 22. The tentative time for the event is 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. So far, mainly college students have signed up, as that’s where CRY’s volunteer networks are strongest, but they hope a wider audience will join in too.
Kreanne Rabadi, who heads CRY in western India, told The Hindu that socks symbolise warmth and comfort. They are asking their supporters to make yellow — the organisation’s brand colour — sock puppets, or to use yellow socks in other creative ways. “The idea of using socks as a symbol for the activity is representative of the joy of a happy childhood. It brings the idea of standing up for children alive in a very literal way.”
The record-setting attempt is part of a broader public awareness campaign called #YellowFellow, to draw attention to children’s rights. The NGO is seeking public participation online (hence the hashtag) and in real world events like volunteer flashmobs in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, aside from Mumbai.
What can a symbolic activity accomplish? Alankrita Khera, general manager, CRY, said, “In the long run, the idea is to try and cut through the apathy that surrounds children’s issues and inspire people to stand up and contribute to the solution in whichever way possible. We’re still thinking through how we’d like to leverage the record, if we are indeed able to break it. But for now, the objective is again to get as many people to participate in the event and talk about why they’re doing so. For children. For happier childhoods. Coming together to make some noise for a really good cause.”
