Filmy touch to education drive
Education is a right that has to be given equally without any kind of discrimination in the society. However, in India we find many children, who are forced to work and earn money when they have to spend time studying at school. ‘Care and Share;, an Italian NGO helps in providing education for the underprivileged children, and is on a mission to make India a better place. With the vision of Street 2 School programme, president of the NGO Tomaso Carraro announced Indian actor Kabir Bedi, the ambassador of Care and Share India.
Kalamani Arumugam, who is head of the Indian wing, shares, “Whenever I talk about my work I get emotional. The underprivileged children get a chance to learn and get educated with joy, which gives you satisfaction and happiness that cannot be bought.”
It is a matter of pride that a strong woman like Kalamani, is at the helm of affairs in India. She shares, “It is very difficult to motivate children and when we are in this field we should never get discouraged and keep motivating them and that’s the strength of a woman. It is possible to change the perspective of parents and the communities we deal with. Education is a basic right and our government and society should see to it that everyone gets it equally.”
“We have around 19,000 students for the past 25 years. We have been focusing in the slum areas of Vijaywada, and now, we are focusing on Hyderabad. We also work in Vishakapatnam. Students come from different villages. We provide education for these children till they reach the level of graduation,” she adds.
Girls, who are bound to traditional customs at home and cannot step out of their houses for education easily, get special attention from Care and Share. “We conduct counseling sessions for girls. We also go to government schools to educate girls on this subject. We talk about what is right and wrong at these sessions so that they have knowledge about what they do.” Kabir Bedi, the ambassador for the NGO shares, “It feels wonderful being a part of this group.
Italy has given me more honor than any other country in the world. I have also been moving from Italy to India and India to Italy on work, and I am glad to promote Care & Share. I am here to promote this platform by gathering donations from India.”
“To give the gift of education is to give the gift of life. I am happy to be a part of Telugu films and I hope that my friends from the Telugu film industry help in the activities of ‘Care and Share’,” he adds.