National Girl Child Day Celebrations across 14 Project Nanhi Kali locations

National Girl Child Day was celebrated at all our project locations across the country. The events organised on the 24th of January, saw a host of activities like song and dance performances, art and craft competitions, awareness talks and discussions. Each location saw more than 100 Nanhi Kalis participating and celebrating in the event along with their parents, Community Associates and teachers. Several local officials also graced the events in different locations, giving us the perfect motivation speeches to the event.

Araku

With a total of 150 participants, the Araku event saw song and dance performances, a Rangoli competition and other cultural activities. Mr. Venkat Rao, MEO of Ananthagiri Mandal was the chief guest of the event. Mr. Suresh- the headmaster, Mr. Dhamodhar – senior teacher of MPMP School Annanthagiri, Mr. Goutam Naidu (LFL) Headmaster, Muliyaguda also attended the program. The Chief Guests spoke on the importance of girl child education and appreciated the work done by Project Nanhi Kali.

Bharuch

200 Nanhi Kalis participated in the programme along with their school teachers, headmasters, government officials and media. They were enthusiastic and proactive in putting up dance performances, songs, role playing, news anchoring, etc. The local news channels covered the event as well.

Chakan

The celebration in Chakan had the honour of 65 schools voluntarily joining in the activities. Indoor and outdoor games were organised such as frog jump, running races and football. The Nanhi Kalis participated in competitions such as essay writing, singing and drawing to showcase their talents. The Nanhi Kalis also performed on various folk songs and Bollywood dances. A group of Nanhi Kalis staged a skit to highlight the need to curb the use of plastic. The secondary school Nanhi Kalistoo participated in essay writing competitions, where the subjects dwelled on women’s issues, gender equality, female foeticide and education for girls.

Nashik

The grand celebrations in 68 schools across three locations commenced with cultural activities, skits and songs performed by the Nanhi Kalis. A total of 850 Nanhi Kalis participated along with 300 parents.

Delhi

The celebrations in Delhi were held at Ambedkar Park, North West Delhi. Around 150 Nanhi Kalis, from Class 6 to 9, participated in the function along with their parents and community members. A life skill session was conducted for one hour by Nanhi Kali Coordinator, Rakhi Gautam on topics like Child Rights, Rights of a Woman, Rules on Safety. The Nanhi Kalis participated in the sessions, expressing their views and having an open dialogue. A rally was also conducted in Mangolpuri, where the Nanhi Kalis raised slogans, spreading awareness about the right to education for girls.

Gurgaon

Around 80 community members along with 40 teachers from the government schools participated along with the Nanhi Kalis. The program started with a rally which was flagged off by the Sarpanch, Sunderlal Yadav. The Nanhi Kalis, Community Associates and community members walked for girl child education, to sensitise the community, holding placards and shouting slogans. A health awareness exhibition was organised by St. Stephens Hospital for Girls and Women on the day as well. A drawing competition was organised on the topic-“Issues of Girl Child” in which the Nanhi Kalis participated.

Mr. Brahm Prakash of Haryana Police spoke about “Operation Durga” which has been recently launched by the Haryana Police for the safety and security of the girls in the localities.

Noida

All the 66 Academic Support Centres in Noida participated in various activities such as painting, essay writing competitions and cultural activities. A rally for girl child education was also held and our Nanhi Kalis participated in the walk.

Kolkata

The celebrations in Kolkata happened at the school level, Academic Support Centre level and also cluster-wise with the Electricity Minister of West Bengal, Mr. Shovon Deb Chatterjee, MLA Mala Roy, Ward chairman, and Councilor attending them. There were cultural activities, dance performances, songs and other activities organised by the Nanhi Kalis and Community Associates. The purpose of the programme was to create awareness and promote gender equality.

Varanasi

National Girl Child Day in Varanasi was special. The theme of all the cultural activities was women empowerment. There were self – defense workshops organised. Get-togethers with Nanhi Kalis and their mothers, painting competitions and different cultural programmes were organised in the various Academic Support Centres. A special signature campaign was organised at AssiGhaton the banks of river Ganga in Varanasi. The general public participated by sharing their messages in support of girl child education to help spread awareness and empower our girls.

110 Nanhi Kalis undertook a rally in Araji Lines, Varanasi, to convey the importance of education, gender equality and child rights.

Ratlam

A rally led by our Nanhi Kalis was organised in a bid to raise public awareness on the biases against women in regards to education, child marriage, female infant abandonment and female foeticide in the village. Prayers, folk dance and a skit on importance of girl child education were performed. Speeches were given by the guests who spoke on girls’ education and the importance of it.

Moga

A rally was organised where more than 100 Nanhi Kalis, 50 Community Associates, prominent community members, the press community, police personnel, and local people participated. The procession went through the busy markets of Punjab. The rally was flagged off by Sanjh Kendar and Angrej Kaur, Sub-Inspectors, Moga after delivering a speech to all the girls to be brave and fight the hardships thrown upon them by society. The event was covered by five local newspapers and was also broadcasted on air by local media channels.

Barabanki

Around 300 Nanhi Kalis participated in the event organised at UPS Jaffarpur, Suratganj. The activities organised were solo and group dances, drawing competition, speeches, songs, recitation, essay writing, quiz contest and games. The centres also conducted a rally in the villages to take their messages into the interiors.

Krishnagiri

The National Girl Child Day event in Krishnagiri witnessed a powerful rally. The event commenced with dance performances on the theme of girl child education. A session was conducted on the rights of women and children to spread awareness. This session inspired our Nanhi Kalis to see beyond societal restrictions.

Mumbai

The celebration of National Girl Child Day in Mumbai was organised in the Academic Support Centres for our Nanhi Kalis. A host of extracurricular activities were combined with the celebrations. The girls engaged in a drawing competition, created few art and craft pieces and wrote essays on topics related to education for the girl child and her rights.