BENGALURU: Keep the city clean, make your apartment fire-safe, do not use plastic -- such messages often come across to children as boring, instructional or patronising. A city-based NGO, however, aims to adopt subtle ways to encourage kids to become active citizens through a series of short stories that promote the concept of active citizenship. Janaagraha has worked with authors, illustrators and editors to create five stories for children aged eight to 14 years. The series, currently published on their website, promotes children’s engagement in society through storytelling.
For instance, one of the stories, titled Something’s stuck around the duck, is about two girls who save a duck that has a plastic slinky stuck around its neck. The story, written by Katie Pyle and illustrated by Jemma Jose, aims to spread the message of shunning plastic.
“In this story, the girls engage with the local councillor and also think of alternative options, such as using cloth bags and steel straws. The books do not bombard the children with too much information but indirectly promote engaging with local representatives. A common thread in some of the stories is working with the municipal corporator. This sensitises children to take part in the society and know what they can do even at their level,” said Reema Govil, head of content development in the Civic Learning Program of Janaagraha.
Three of the stories are meant for eight to 11-year-olds while the other two target kids aged 12-14 years.
“In the story titled Under Fire, a boy, Sachin, is bullied by another boy, Aarav. After Sachin saves Aarav’s life when he is trapped in a burning building, the two become friends and together they ensure that fire safety mechanisms are installed in their apartment,” Govil explained.
The other stories revolve around the themes of water conservation, informing the police about thieves, cleanliness and waste segregation in the community.
The NGO plans to engage with self-publishing platforms, publishers of children’s books, and storytelling platforms so that the stories can be narrated to larger audiences. It also plans to get in touch with private schools before the upcoming academic year.