The conclave started with Bittu Sahgal, an Environmental Activist addressing the school students gathered and telling them about the importance of environment. According to him, speaking up for the cause of the environment is the first step to making India better. He said that while working to make India better, children should follow Gandhiji's ideology, before you do anything ask yourself if your act will help the poorest or poor. Talking about the role of government, Mr Sahgal said, they should focus on ensuring a healthier environment for children.
In an open house session, Behtar India Campaign Ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput interacted with students and asked them to follow their heart and do what they really can do well to succeed. He expressed his concern over the growing plastic menace and said technology should be used to tackle plastic waste.
Another panelist of the youth icon session - Malavath Poorna, a mountaineer, is the youngest girl to reach the summit of Mount Everest. According to her, every student should follow this commandment: 'I shall never give up.'
She said, "I have followed this to summit Everest. On summiting Everest, I felt I have done everything and showed that girls can do anything in life."
Gunmeet Bindra, Principal of Welham Boys' School, Dehradun, in her keynote speech, she said that educationists should imbibe compassion, care and concern for the problems faced by the country, among students.
She concluded that the time is right to do the right things and build a future where India will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, where dengue will be a thing of the past.
Nearly 20 lakh children live on the streets of India, without an identity, a name to call their own, a place to call home, sleeping on empty stomachs for days and nights. These twenty lakh are children, who have dreams, who have rights, who are our tomorrow. They are living in the shadows today.
During these unprecedented times, not everyone can afford the privilege of social distancing. And not everybody can stay home during the lockdown, simply because they don’t have a home. Those living in poverty are extremely vulnerable, struck with a sudden lack of funds, food, mobility and a struggle for survival. And, as with all humanitarian crises, it is the children who have been affected the most.
It is always the children on the street who are subjected to some of the harshest realities of life. Today they are battling a catastrophic crisis, and it’s time we step in to protect them.
As a part of our COVID-19 response, Save the Children is working across various regions and has already directly reached over 18,000 children and adults to cover their basic needs. The organisation is ensuring their daily needs and their dignity and hygiene are also being cared for. Save the Children has identified 2.5 lakh children in cohorts, across 10 cities in India. Reaching out to these children with emergency relief is a top priority. But this cannot be done alone.
Save the Children and NDTV join hands to bring focus to the lives of children living in street situations. As India fights the Coronavirus, we must not forget one of the most marginalised and excluded groups whose lives have been long ignored – street-connected children. The 21-day campaign will generate public interest and raise funds to ensure these 20 Lakh+ children who live, earn, sleep and eat on our streets are cared for and protected. Amidst the crisis the world is facing, they are most vulnerable, exposed to infection and disease.