CHENNAI: Karunalaya, an NGO, on Friday, International Day for street children, introduced four children from its family, who are set to bat at the Lord’s for the children’s rights. The street children, Paulraj, Nagalakshmi, Monisha and Suryaprakash, are part of the South India team that will play at the first ever Street Child Cricket World Cup to be held at Lord’s, London.
Around ten teams from nine countries including Pakistan, England and Tanzania are expected to take part in the tournament, aimed at bringing the spotlight on the rights of street children, on international stage. They are set to play a 20 ball match. “I will go to London and tell them about the problems we face as children from the streets. Not only that, we will also bring the cup,” said Monisha. Monisha lived with her mother and brother on the streets of Walltax road and has had to encounter drunken strangers and paedophiles almost on a daily basis.
On the stage with the four players, was also Harsha Jain, a person with visual and motor impairment, who raised over Rs 1 lakh to fund the trip to London for the children. “She worked tirelessly to raise the funds, getting little by little, from friends and family. This is no mean task,” said N Paul Sunder Singh, founder and secretary of Karunalaya.
DJ Gokulakrishnan, a former first-class cricketer who represented Tamil Nadu, Goa and Assam, has been instrumental in training the children for the tournament. “I’m happy that cricket is the medium used to create a difference in the lives of the children from the streets,” he said.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh, a judge of Madras High Court, who was the chief guest, said, “I was also born and raised at Perambur. I spent around 20 years playing cricket. I’m the first judge in the family. I’m sure if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything.”S John Bosco, president, Karunalaya, was also present.