The recent performance at the Theatre in Education (TiE), Children from Shurokit Shaishav, presented prevalent grass-roots issues to draw the attention of stakeholders, especially duty-bearers. Their performance was flawless, and they are getting stronger and more effective. Every year, these children use this platform to bring up issues that affect them at different levels. This year the focus was on child trafficking, the harmful impact of social media, and unsafe migration.

Tie was organized under the State Level Children’s Conclave, jointly organized by Caritas India and Bagalnatak.com, the UN-accredited organization working across India with a mission to foster inclusive and sustainable development using culture-based approaches.

The conclave was organized on March 15, 2023, at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, with 28 children from 5 districts of West Bengal, namely Darjeeling (Siliguri), Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Murshidabad, and the 24 Parganas (North).

The final performance was the outcome of a three-day preparatory in-house workshop organized from 12.3.2023 to 14.3.2023 with the children at Palli Unanyan Samity, Baruipur. Three resource persons from Banglanatak.com assisted the entire session. All the participants played interesting games to find out various issues of child abuse and child rights. The children thoroughly engaged in group activities, developed a bond among themselves, and performed as a team. During the preparatory workshop, the resource persons facilitated the sessions, which helped the children develop the script, the dialogues, and the songs by themselves.

The resource persons asked the children to reflect and recall the days of the pandemic and write down their experiences. Children were divided into three groups as per their states and with the help of the points and incidents they wrote. After thorough rehearsals, the children finally presented their short plays. The guests for that day mainly came from eminent organizations working on child protection issues like the International Justice Mission, Sanlaap, Jayprakash Institute for Social Change, and Save the Children, to name a few.
Children at the TiE expressed that the workshop had helped them to present their grass-roots issues in front of the audiences through the medium of theatre. They also stated that they lacked confidence and were afraid of facing the audience. The workshop has given them the courage and motivation not only to face the audience but also to speak up about their issues to the concerned stakeholders boldly.

Special guest Ms. Susmita Guha, State Head, Save the Children (West Bengal), said that she always feels interested in attending the child rights programs of Caritas India as they always talk about “Child Led Advocacy” and it is the “children who actually take ownership in the conducting of the programs.” She emphasized that programs for children should be designed in a way that children can have space to provide their input as well.

The resource persons from Banglanatak.com, while sharing their experiences, said that they were surprised at how quickly and flawlessly these children had picked up their roles in such a short period of time. They also pointed out that many of them have the zeal to become good actors in the future. They even praised the children’s awareness of various child protection issues.

The program ended with certificate distribution to all the child participants and felicitation of the resource persons. As a part of the Child Rights Programme from Caritas India, Dr. Jayanta Munshi, the lead, Ms. Asha Rosaline Ekka, the program lead, and Ms. Abhishikta Bandyopadhyay, the program extension associate, were present and organized the entire program for four days.