That Time We Celebrated Children's Day Together..

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of the Republic of India, had his birthday on the 14^th of November. This day is also celebrated as Children’s Day in recognition of his lifelong passion and work for the welfare, education and development of children and young people.

Celebrating the fun and frolic, on 11^th November 2018, volunteers from different PAG(Public Action Groups) of Delhi gathered at SWATI – a CRY project intervention area, for a day filled with cultural events which was performed by the children of those respective PAG’s.

The children were ecstatic for the event to begin; the air was filled with happiness and cheer. Even parents came to support their children! We were accompanied by Damini, a professional Odisi dancer, who was made to judge the different competitions that had been organized.

The event started around 12pm with roaring excitement. There were 5 teams in total- Swati Sohit Tiger, Saksham Warriors, Indrapuram ke Indradhanush, Pahal Rising Stars and Dwarka ke Dhurandhar, who picked up different social issues and performed to their hearts content, while everyone watched in awe. In their plays, they brought up various social issues such as that of patriarchy, and also danced to songs such as Jai Ho, mastering the moves that they had learnt, and sang Vande Mataram with pride and their heads held high. It was astonishing to see how adept they were in doing everything that they did. The talent was to be seen to be believed!

After the performances, all the children were given the opportunity to come on stage and perform any dance routine that wished to while the results were being evaluated. Himanshi, one of the volunteers, took to the stage only to mesmerize everyone with her amazing dance.

After the children had the time of their lives, singing and dancing and running around and enjoying, it was time to distribute the bright shiny medals and announce the winners. The 1^st place was taken by ‘PAHAL RISING STARS’, 2^nd by ‘SWATI SOHIT TIGER’ and 3^rd by ‘SAKSHAM WARRIORS’ ‘DWARKA KE DHURANDAR’ and ‘INDIRAPURAM KE INDRADHANUSH’.

After a day of fun and friendly competition, the children were excited to receive their refreshments from Freestand, who were our refreshment sponsors for the day. With that a fabulous day filled with love, happiness and togetherness came to an end!

Days like these make you realize how critical it is to provide children with platforms and access to spaces where their creative abilities and nourished and showcased. It is on such days that we also realize that it is extremely necessary to make sure that the child in you lives on because it is that child in you that keeps you excited and going in life and gives you the power to take on any challenge head-on.

-      Anagha and Shania

    CRY Volunteers