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| Also see : Child Sexual Abuse, Children, Street Children |
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NOBLE GESTURE - UNCEF SAYS INDIA HAS 12 MN STREET KIDS
Irish kids raise Rs 5.6 lakh for Kolkata street children..........Chetan Chauhan Midleton (Ireland)
DISTANCE OF thousands of kilometres was bridged last weekend when a bunch of school children of a county school in Midleton organised a run to raise money for street children of Kolkata.
“It is our friendly gesture for children living in extreme poverty in the streets of Kolkata, unlike us, who enjoy all the luxuries of life,” said John O’tballor, a student who participated in the 25km-run from Midleton to Youghal in southern Ireland. Seeking a small contribution from shopkeepers and residents to provide a better life to some of the street children in Kolkata, O’tballor said about 9,000 Euros (Rs 5.69 lakh) raised through the run would be given to the NGOs when they visit Kolkata early next year. The money raised may not make a huge difference in the lives of over two lakh street children in Kolkata, home to most number of street children after Delhi and Mumbai. However, the students term their effort as a “gesture of friendship”. A Unicef study has esti mated that India has about 12 million street children, largest for any country in the world. The first such run organised in Ireland for street children in India was the brainchild of Maura Smyth, O’tballor’s teacher, who visited West Bengal in 2004 and was left aghast seeing the condition of children on the streets of Kolkata. “It was then I realised that there are two worlds, one for rich and another for poor. Here we take everything for granted. But, in India, one has to fight for survival always,” she said. After her return to Midleton, the town known for producing best Irish whiskey Jameson, she gave insight to her students about the “fight for survival” that Indian children face every day due to extreme poverty . Her stories inspired O’tballor and his five friends to take up a project for welfare of street children in Kolkata. “They (the students) came up to me and asked me what they can do for these children. After much discussion we decided to raise money for them and visit them so that the boys can get first hand experience,” she said. Six students, along with Smyth, would be visiting Kolkata and a school run by Christian Brothers for poor children in Asansol to experience the life of Indian children. “The boys will spend time with street children in Kolkata for 10 days in January next year, after which we would leave for Asansol,” she said. O’tballor said he and his mates have started packing their bags and are looking for gifts for the friends they want to make on the streets of Kolkata. URL:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=12_08_2008_010_001&typ=0&Archtype=&pub=264 |
| Also see : Child Sexual Abuse, Children, Street Children |
