President Murmu to meet slum children attending summer camp

President Droupadi Murmu will meet 160 underprivileged children of the Gandhi Summer School on Friday here at Rashtrapati Bhawan, former Union minister Vijay Goel said. The 12-day summer camp is an initiative aimed at empowering slum children through a diverse range of skill-based activities, he added.

The Gandhi Summer School is being organised at Gandhi Darshan near Rajghat from June 19 to 30.

In an attempt to boost children's creativity and promote a sense of inclusiveness among them, the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS) has enrolled 160 children from different slum areas in the city for the summer school, Goel, vice chairman of GSDS, said.

"Through this initiative, we aim to empower the children by fostering their innate artistic abilities, promoting skill-building and instilling confidence," the BJP leader said.

''The President will meet these slum children on Friday at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The children will perform a chorus presentation of the song that they have learnt in this camp," the former minister added.

The children of drivers, daily wage labourers, rickshaw pullers, local vendors, fruit sellers, painters, security guards, tailors, farmers and welders are among those attending this camp, Goel said.

At the camp, expert trainers conduct various sessions where the children learn mime, dance, music, wall painting, poster making, theatre, charkha spinning, videography, painting, bamboo craft and paper. Peace-building exercises are also conducted for the children, he added.

Three buses daily bring these children from their respective areas at 9 am to Gandhi Darshan and then drop them back at 5 pm, Goel said.