Usefull puppet show at Municipal school
A puppet show progressing at Jaivabai Municipal Higher Secondary School in Tirupur on Tuesday.“Children are not meant to be sold,” sang the puppets. Dressed in colourful garbs, they pranced about on stage, waving their papier-mâché hands wildly in the air, all while acting out a short play on child trafficking.At the ‘puppetry yathra’ organised by the Campaign against Child Trafficking (CACT) at the St.Antony’s Higher Secondary School here on Monday, the puppets enchanted the children like magical beings in a dream.The show, which aimed at making children aware of the dangers of child trafficking, opened to a packed audience that cheered and welcomed the puppet characters onto the stage. Peppered with humour, the play narrated the complex issue of child trafficking.The message was loud and clear – childhood was not meant to be lost to labour. Children had the right to quality education, food, shelter and recreation. As the play unfolded through the words of the endearing puppets, the audience came across startling facts regarding child abuse and trafficking.Violence against children was still rampant, M.Baskaran, coordinator of CACT, said. More than 44,000 children went missing in 2005, according to a National Human Rights Commission report out of which only 22 per cent could be traced and retrieved.
“A recent study on child abuse also showed that there has been a 2 per cent increase in the rate of violence against children,” he said. The study also said that three lakh to five lakh children in the country were engaged in prostitution, he lamented. Hundreds of child labourers too were struggling to lead a life of dignity in various parts of the country.The play also dwelt upon instances such as the Noida killings, drawing the children’s attention to making the society around them aware of child trafficking. Talking to elders about the problems they faced in school, calling the toll free number 1098 in case of witnessing child trafficking and being aware of their own rights were things children should remember.“Children respond better to such plays. What they learnt today will never be forgotten,” Mr.Baskaran added.The ‘puppetry yathra’ would also be held in a couple of schools in Avanashi and Tirupur.
