Children’s Day marks the celebration of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s (fondly called Chacha Nehru) birthday. It commemorates the love he had for kids & is a day for celebration for children all over India.
Aashayein Foundation, Mysore celebrated Children’s Day at the Government School, Bastipura in Srirangapatana District with the school children from standard 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th. This is the same school where AF-Mysore conducts its weekly ‘Shikshana Abhiyana’ activity. Around 40 Kids had assembled on the occasion.
What is Children’s Day?
The activities of the day started off with Mr. Rameshbabu, talking to all the kids on the importance of the day; why the day & what it means.
Questions were asked on topics ranging from children’s day to politics to sports.
Consolation prizes were awarded to the ones who answered.
Let the games Begin!
First event of the day was the Rangoli competition
This event had 14 teams registered. Most of the kids were in groups of 3, but some preferred doing it alone.
It was a tribute to the creativity of the kids that they could come up with such beautiful & colourful designs in such a short duration.
Not only were their rangolis beautiful, they had the colours of their innocence filled in them.
The volunteers too had their share of the fun, in helping out a few of the kids with their rangolis.
This was then followed by the Individual competitions & sports activities.
Do you Cycle?!
The event was a ‘Slow cycling Race’. The one to reach last without touching feet on ground was the winner.
This event was a lot of fun with the volunteers also trying out their skills. It was also appreciative in the way the girls too came forward to participate.
The event had its own share of joy, excitement, falls & successes.
Drinks Break!
With the sun deciding to give competition to the bright lights at the school grounds (the children), it was time for a drinks break.
Students & volunteers alike lined up for the lemon juice being served.
Lemon spoon!!
The next event on the sports list was the lemon juice ...BURP!!..OOPS!!...the lemon & spoon competition. This activity saw a lot of excitement among the kids with them calling out the names of their friends as they raced on field.
A few lemons spilled here & there, only added to the excitement. These were cheered by the enthusiastic crowd as much as the winners were!!
Phew!..Lunch Break...Finally!!
The children, the volunteers & all assembled were extremely tired with the exertions on field. It was time for some food. Bisi Bele Bath & Curd Rice were served for the kids. A special mention of Ms Rupa Rao who provided sponsorship for the lunch served on the occasion.
A lot of activities were going on in the classes as the food was being served. The picture shown gives a glimpse of the same.
Just look at all the hungry people out there!!
Can u race!?
The final sports activity of the day was a ball race wherein tennis balls were placed at regular intervals on the race track. The participants are supposed to get the balls back to the starting line & then finish the race.
The sport had a lot of excitement with the crowd at its vociferous best with all the energy generated from the wonderful lunch.
Show me your talents!!
The talent show is a chance for the kids to exhibit their skills in a host of cultural activities.
A lot of them came prepared & performed activities like singing, dancing & drama.
This platform served as a chance for the students to not only exhibit their talents, but also to get rid of their stage fear, if any.
And the best part-Prizes!!!
With all the events wound up, it was time for the prize distribution. The function began with providing each child with a story book each & sweets as a token for their participation on the day. This was further followed by the prize winners for the group & individual events.
Special prizes were given to the best performer in the English classes conducted as part of ‘Shikshana Abhiyana’ at the school.
Token of appreciation was given to the teachers who had made it to the celebration despite it being their only day off in the week. A few books were donated to the school library so that it could be of further use for the kids studying at the school.
A special mention of Mr. Rameshbabu S who provided for the sponsorship of the prizes.
Thus concluded, a wonderful day, spent fruitfully for all the AF volunteers in spreading happiness among children on ‘their’ day. AF-Mysore offers a note of thanks to all the sponsors without whom the event would never have been a success.
To quote the ‘Spiderman’ movie dialogue differently,
” With Education (Power) comes responsibility, a responsibility to empower others & make a difference to society”
