TIRUPATI: Meet 38-year-old Kola Vishali from Srikalahasti, who is working towards the eradication of child sexual abuse by educating and empowering children with a special focus on those living in rural areas. ‘Tejo Barath,’ a non-governmental organisation (NGO) started by her in 2018, conducts interactive sessions on the ‘body safety rules’ for the children studying in government schools. Vishali, the founder of the NGO, states that ‘every child is precious’ and ‘safe childhood is their birthright’. The NGO has been educating the children about their rights by visiting schools and orphanages under the “Safe India Happy India” initiative in Srikalahasti, Tirupati and many villages in Chittoor district.
The NGO has formulated three steps to be followed by the children when somebody tries to touch their body parts, at such instances, it asks the children, “to say ‘no’, and go away from them, immediately report to the elders. If the child is confident enough, Vaishali suggests them to beat them.”
Educating and empowering the adults about treating children with dignity and listening to them is important. Besides creating awareness on sexual abuse, it empowers them on gender equality for the adults. The guiding principle of the NGO is “One thought between your urge and action can save a child.”
Dr Lakshmi Priya, a physiotherapist, also the chairperson of Junior Chambers International (JCI), Tirumala Chapter, shares her experience on collaborating with the NGO. A social activist, who is fighting for the girl empowerment cause, she conducts awareness sessions on child sexual abuse for children. “By interacting individually, we build confidence among the children, which allows them to open up on their past experiences related to the abuse,” she said.
“The details of them will be kept confidential and they will be sent to counselling sessions with our team of psychologists for the treatment,” she adds. Vishali has been actively fighting for child rights for the last 10 years. The idea to do this struck her when her own two-year-old son, who is now 13, complained of random people frisking him when they came home, she recalls.
The organisation is developing a one-of-its-kind application aimed at making the children understand body safety rules and gender equality through interactive sessions and fun exercise and a graphical representation to ensure a better learning experience. It also developed an ‘EduMat’, which is called as ‘MagicMat’ built in association with Sree Sadhguru Innovations Limited that focuses on the holistic development of children through value education alongside various subjects like English, Mathematics and Environmental Science.
Sanitary pads for underprivileged girls
During the course of interactive sessions with the children, the NGO has identified that the underprivileged girl students, particularly from SC and ST communities, in the rural areas lack proper menstrual hygiene. To address this, the organisation has been distributing sanitary pads to girl children free of cost. Now it is going to launch premium sanitary pads named ‘V Forever’. These sanitary pads, distributed to the girls at a cost of `4 per packet, last for longer hours. They will also protect them from vaginal infections, she said. Vaishali said that menstrual hygiene plays a significant role in preventing cervical cancer in the girl children
Enlightening kids about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touch
The NGO teaches the children about the body parts that shouldn’t be touched by anyone other than their mother. As per the body safety rules taught to the children, it says parts such as ‘lips, chest, between the legs and buttocks’ of a child shouldn’t be touched. They teach them to differentiate between ‘good’ and bad’ touch and how to react when somebody touches their private parts