.@Empower_Women @Amrita_Create
Aim of Auroville Child Protection Service Project
Suriya from Auroville shares that the CPS Project wants to achieve acceptance of gender issues and building awareness of possible child abuse in Auroville and its surrounding areas. The particular approach is exercised at the grass-roots level and aims at protecting the children by creating awareness from a young age onwards.
The main goal each year is to introduce this program in the government and non- government schools.
Activities:
Every year the Suriya and other Aurovilians reach 300 individuals with nine Government and Auroville outreach schools:
We promote this education with working women in Auroville and youths (both genders).
We start the class by sharing about Human Anatomy with students. And then we ask them how we can protect ourselves. From there we take them through thinking about cleanliness, healthy food and various other issues related to our body, health and environment. With children from 8 to 12 years we follow our own method and give the topic, then the students draw pictures and explain their work to the groups. The topic can be Protection, Parts of the body (mainly Reproductive System), Child Rights, Abuse, Domestic Violence, Child Labor, Prevention of Child Abuse, etc. With children from 13 to 18 years we follow the ‘UNICEF’ books and information from the internet. Through a story telling method, we teach children age of 6 yrs to 14 yrs.
Output of the Activities:
We have distributed posters on child safety (awareness information) to Auroville Schools, Auroville outreach schools, and to Government schools.
During our class we ask the students to reflect what they have learned from the classes. Some of their responses have been:
- We should be careful while getting a lift.
- There are safe and unsafe touches. We should be aware of this.
- We will teach this information to others.
- Any abnormal incident about child abuse should be immediately reported to the parents.
- Give respect to the female child.
- Don’t throw female babies away. Families should take care of baby girls.
- Learn the functions of the reproductive organs (for both genders).
- Widows must re-marry.
- We should not treat the children like slaves.
- In all aspects give equal rights to both genders.
Regarding domestic violence the following points came from the children:
- Girls need more freedom to express their ideas and to be independent.
- Aware of themselves. And pass this awareness to friends and family on child abuse.
- Sense of security from the culture (protection from this type of abuse).
- Concern and sad for the children who go through the abuse. Willingness to act (to even request the Government to create an awareness program for the public and for all schools).
- Sense of responsibility concern to protect disabled children.
- Overall opposition on child marriage
Empowering Women 