A mix of fun and lessons at Kilikootam

There is a lot of excitement when the children are told to narrate their experience on the 40-day summer camp ‘Kilikootam’ organised by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is a lot of excitement when the children are told to narrate their experience on the 40-day summer camp ‘Kilikootam’ organised by the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.

The camp which concludes in the city today saw the participation of at least 250 students from classes 1 to 1X. Unlike the previous years, the camp addressed issues of rising crimes in the city. It was an eye-opener to students who were given classes by experts regarding sexual abuse in children. They spoke about the difference between good touch and bad touch while exhorting students to speak to their parents, teachers and grandparents about such incidents.

Awareness on social media pitfalls

The children were told about the pitfalls about the social media and how young ones are snared to pornography and why there is a need to stay be very vigilant. For this, parents were taught about the need to guide the children. This camp gave an opportunity for  children who come from single child households to mingle with other kids from various backgrounds. Group activities were conducted so that children of all ages, irrespective of gender, could understand the value of team work.

Heart-to-heart talks

Many children opened up about personal experiences and spoke about how they have seen drug addicts in their schools. They were also eager to learn how they could bring these children back to normal life.
 

The awareness classes were coordinated by ‘Kanal’ the safety wing of Kerala State Council for Child Welfare. “I feel very confident to say ‘No’ to people who are bad to me. These lessons will be very useful in the future,” said Diya Lekshmi, a student of eighth grade, Christ Nagar. “This is the best camp I have ever attended,” says a third grader, Lekshmi of MGM school.  The council is also planning to organise a camp exclusively for tribal kids which will help them come into the mainstream.

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