Bhubaneswar: To put the dropout slum children back in government schools, ActionAid, in collaboration with Centre for Child and Women Development (CCWD) and Government Primary School Second Postal Colony, conducted an enrolment drive on the occasion of Pravesh Utsav, Thursday. The programme was organised at Patharabandha slum under ward 17 of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Under the drive, the aim was to identify the children from urban slum pockets working as child labourers, domestic help and rag pickers and enroll them in schools Various slogans like “Dhara silata dhara khadi, chala jiba patha padhi” and “Sisu ra bikash desha ra bikash“were used to sensitise the slum dwellers and to enroll their children in schools. Headmistress Sailaprava Panda, teachers Majulata Behera and Naxtramalini Pattanayak joined the campaign. “Education helps a child become a confident individual. It teaches them how to socialise with people in society, outside their family, and more. It also helps a child interact with people of different beliefs, ages, genders, backgrounds, and a lot more,” Panda said. “Education provides stability in life, and it is something that no one can ever take away from you. By being well-educated and holding a college degree, you increase your chances for better career opportunities and open up new doors for yourself,” she added. The programme was coordinated by Bhaskar Chandra Pradhan, Shiba Sahoo, Soumya Ranjan Das, Sucharita Behera and Bishnupriya Samal.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP