School kids take the stage to spread awareness on child rights

As part of the curriculum, students are taught about their fundamental rights and duties. But because of the complex terminology and conceptualisation, the topic can be rather dry and boring. In order to convey it in the simplest way, Yein Udaan, an initiative that works with the underprivileged children, will be staging a bilingual play titled Production 3.0. Children who train under Yein Udaan will be performing the play at Geetha Bhavan Trust, Gopalapuram on June 8.

Vedika Agarwal, the founder of Yein Udaan, tells us. “As an adult, you realise the importance of children needing to know about these laws meant to protect them. The laws not only enable them to identify wrongdoing but also empower them to stop it. Thus, to ensure that the students fully understood their rights and how to exercise them, I began writing stories based on these rights. The stories are grounded in communities similar to the ones we work in at Yein Udaan, to make learning more contextual and relatable for the kids. We are trying to spread awareness on these rights, their violation and prevention. By spreading this awareness, we hope we can not only educate parents and educators but also children who may then be able to exercise their rights, irrespective of age. In every story, the child is the protagonist with the hope to empower children to know that they can solve problems and be the superheroes they talk of wanting to be. Every child has the potential to be a leader; we are simply tapping into that potential while also addressing an important and nuanced matter relevant to them.”

Childhood is the most precious time in everyone’s life. It is the building stage of a child’s physical and mental health as well as a complete personality. Thus, it can and must be preserved. “Children are vulnerable and they cannot have their own autonomy and they are dependent on adults, they should be given special care and protection, hence their rights should also be recognised and protected. Since children lack the ability to make wise decisions, it befalls on the parents/guardians to ensure that the rights are exercised properly. If the parent/guardian is misusing the right or otherwise abusing the child, it is the duty of the society to report it and rectify it,” shares Sunitha Ravichandran, who heads Yein Udaan.

The audience, especially children, will learn about their rights as in the Indian Constitution through different acts being performed by their peer group in simple yet effective and strong notes. Some of the rights that will be addressed include, right to life, right to education and right against exploitation.

“We hope audience members, especially children, leave with a certain amount of knowledge and awareness and the feeling of empowerment to be able to do something in case they come across such violations. Since the act is being performed by children, we hope the children in the audience can relate with their peer groups and these characters, making the content further relatable,” shares Vedika.