Put on your walking shoes to ensure that a girl child sees the light of day. Students from almost all colleges from the city will gather on October 14 and march towards their goal, which is to free the girl child from the clutches of evil.
Kanyathon, a walkathon to highlight the cause of ‘save the girl child’ organised by Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), a non-government organisation (NGO) that rescues and rehabilitates street and working children in Bangalore and IFIM Business School, (The Institute of Finance and International Management, Bangalore), will be held coming Sunday starting from Kanteerava Stadium at 7.05 am.
The route for the walkathon will cover a stretch of 2.5 km. “We conduct the walkathon every year. This time we have collaborated with BOSCO as they are doing a lot of good work towards saving the girl child,” said Jibin Varghese, a student of IFIM, who is in the organising team. The main aim of the students is to collect money and donate it to the NGO so that more girls can be rescued. “I am originally from Gujarat and there the girl ratio is very low. Gujarati boys have to marry girls from outside the state. I strongly feel for the cause. If more awareness is spread, this social evil can be killed,” said Jibin.
Initially when the students ventured out to seek permission from police officials for the walkathon they were apprehensive. “We had a very different opinion about the police officials. But we were proved wrong. They are really understanding and supportive. They gave us permission almost immediately,” he added.
About 5000+ people are expected to participate in this event. There is no participation fees attached to this event as it is an awareness program.
“There is no participation fees and we will be putting donation boxes at the venue as well as schools and offices to collect money,” said Jibin.
Through this initiative, BOSCO wants to spread awareness among the people about saving the young girls at risk. A report by UNICEF reveals that since 1991, 80 per cent districts in India have recorded a declining sex ratio with the state of Punjab being the worst.
According to a research done in 2011, between 4 million and 12 million have been aborted from 1980 to 2010 in India. “I think the feeling to save the girl child should be inculcated in students at a young age. That is why we have organised this walkathon mainly focussing on students so that they become responsible citizens,” said Georjo Pius, an organiser from BOSCO.
Not only students but the big players in the corporate world have also come forward to do their bit. “We have donated towards the cause. Girl child killings have run into lakhs. Without women, the world will come to an end. I myself have four girls and I know their value, “ said Tomy Thomas, MD of Gina Engineering.