For the 120 women student volunteers of the Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science, it was the first time that they ever visited a corporation school and it is an experience that they will cherish all their life. These volunteers have been mentored by professionals, to in-turn train the students from class I to V on Safe Touch and Happy Child Programme.
These are two ambitious projects that target the students of the corporation elementary school and have been introduced by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation and Aram Foundation Charitable Trust. In the last two days the 120 women volunteers have visited 41 corporation elementary schools in Coimbatore and they have reached out to over 6,000 girl and boy students of these schools.
Sharing information about the two projects, Latha Sundaram, Managing Trustee of Aram Foundation Charitable Trust stated that Happy Child project aims at ensuring that every child experiences a happy childhood. This project that was rated as one of the hundred best projects of 2016, and is a recipient of the Skoch Award.
“The aim of this project, as its name suggests is to ensure that every child is a happy child. As teachers and parents play an important role in every child’s life, this project aims at strengthening the bond between the child, parents and teachers.” Latha says. Also as a part of this project, the students are taught anger management through breathing exercises. These exercises have been scientifically proven to yield results and are recommended by psychiatrists.
Another part of the training also teaches the children values like helping others. Managing Trustee, Aram Foundation Charitable Trust, tells us that children can do wonders at home and in school. “At home, kids can help their parents and neighbors by doing odd jobs and in their own school, the children can lend a helping hand to the disabled children. Happy Child project also trains the children to learn to forgiveness. By doing so, the kids do not carry vengeance in their minds, instead forgive and forget and be happy.” Latha says. Happy Child project introduces children to the STEPS of success, which are 'Smile', say - Thank you', 'Excuse me', 'Please and Sorry' wherever and whenever necessary.
The Happy Child project also aims at inculcating the basics of cleanliness and hygiene among the school children. We are told that the kids are trained on aspects like how to keep their hands, feet, hair, skin and clothes neat and clean. Happy Child does not stop with just training the children. As a part of this project, a booklet is provided to all the children and they are expected to self-evaluate themselves. The volunteers of this project will re-visit the respective schools and monitor the performance of the kids as recorded by the kids in the booklet. As a mark of appreciation, the kids who do well will be rewarded with prizes.
On day one of the two days, over 6,000 kids of the 41 corporation elementary schools were sensitized on Safe Touch. As a part of Safe Touch children were educated by trained volunteers on the different kinds and forms of abuse and the childrens' were also motivated to report abuse of any kind that they might experience to their parents/teachers.