SOS Children’s Villages of India, a New Delhi-based child care NGO dedicated to the holistic development of children without parental care, will host the grand finale of the fifth edition of e-Tarang 2020 today (November 26).
The annual cultural festival always brings out the creative talents of the children under its care. “The zonal competitions kicked off on November 5 and witnessed over 700 children participate from 32 project locations spread across 22 states. The categories included solo songs, duet songs, extempore speeches in Hindi and English, group dance, quiz, and science models.
The grand finale will be streamed live on Facebook at 4:00pm today,” adds SOS Children’s Villages of India, Senior Deputy National Director, Sumanta Kar. Over 6,500 children live at the SOS Children’s Villages that are supported through community outreach interventions. Kar says, “This event helps to engage these children to explore their creativity and facilitate their mental well-being.
It celebrates a child’s ‘Right to Participation’ that is one of the main pillars of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Every year, hundreds of children used to travel to Delhi to participate in the finals. The grand finale used to witness a series of inter-zone activities and performances including the National Sports and Culture Competition. The annual event ended with a cultural night where the winners were bestowed with tokens of appreciation.
But Kar feels that the pandemic and lockdown restrictions cannot be downer. “Hence, this year we are online streaming all the events using digital platforms – Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Since most of our facilities are on the city outskirts where stable Internet connectivity is a challenge, we have ensured fixed internet lines for all locations with the help of local internet service providers and have used mobile hotspots for back up. Although very few competitions have been organised keeping the health and safety of children in mind, our children remain undeterred and insist on the new normal,” says Kar.
Majority of the participants including children from marginalised communities were the first-time
participants of a virtual event. “Moreover, the e-initiative has a greater outreach at a fraction of the cost compared to a physically organised large-scale event. e-Tarang has given children a much-needed exposure to be ready for the digital era,” he adds.
Class-12 student Jyoti from Greenfields Village in Faridabad, was brought to the centre when she was five. She loves participating in Tarang’s dance competitions, whenever it’s her turn (organisers allow alternate-year participation so that every kid gets a chance). A month before the contest, she starts to put in one hour of practice, and increases it to 2-3 hours closer to the date.
“I eagerly wait for Tarang so I can show off my skills, and meet and stay with children from other villages. This year’s e-Tarang was a break from the monotony of staying indoors. I could compete with other kids virtually, and I enjoy recording videos,” says Jyoti, who made the best use of her turn this year by participating in skit, group dance, and painting competitions.
Tarang by SOS Children’s Villages that conducted its fifth edition online this year, saw 700 kids from the child care NGO compete in various categories with the finalists all set to bag the top spots in the grand finale today