KOCHI:District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla inaugurated substance abuse free environment (SAFE), a multi-stakeholder conference organised by the Fourth Wave Foundation’s project ‘Venda - Say no to drugs’. At the event, Safirulla gave an overview of the drug scenario in Kochi and stressed the need for intervention to curb the menace for keeping the children safe.
S D Shibulal, who provided the seed fund for project Venda, said: “A lot of courage is needed to do ‘unreasonable’ things and ‘Venda’ is such an initiative. SAFE is a platform that brings together stakeholders and decision makers to work towards a single goal.” Fr Mathew Vattathara, who hosted the event, felicitated the members of the foundation. Raja Shanmugham, a board member of the Fourth Wave Foundation, stressed on the need for continued support to carry the initiative forward. “Nammal ariyaatha nammude kochi”, a book of stories authored by Swarup B R on the little-known realities of Kochi, based on real-life cases involving children, was released.
Various panel discussions were held. The first panel discussed the role of media in promoting campaigns against drug abuse. This was followed by Dr Milkman’s presentation on ‘Iceland model’.The third session focussed on the ‘right to a safe and holistic schooling experience’, which was moderated by Raja Shanmugham, co-founder and ex-president of Happiest Minds Tech. The panel included Lida Jacob (former chairperson, Commission of Right to Education Act; Christopher M Mahar, Dicastery, promoting integral Human Development, Vatican; Rahul R Pillai (managing director, Kerala Tourism Development Corp Ltd) and Reena Michael, founder Rina’s Shiksha Niketan.