As Tamil Nadu in India gets back to business in the post- pandemic era, it faces many social and economic challenges that demand attention. Few are as compelling or as urgent as securing the safety and wellbeing of the country’s children, who will one day soon shape its future.
Child abuse cases have been steadily rising in India, and Tamil Nadu is no exception. Alcoholism and domestic violence, both of which the pandemic exacerbated, have deep and tragic effects on children. Increased access to digital devices and isolation from peer groups during the pandemic has widened the generation gap between children and their caregivers. Mental health challenges like stress, depression and anxiety are now common among young people, resulting, in some cases, in self harm. Use of drugs by school children is increasing at an alarming rate among boys and girls.
For nearly 30 years, Nalamdana has been working closely with schools to implement creative and effective child abuse prevention and child protection interventions. This includes puppet shows and short film screenings followed by discussions with students, their families, and their communities. Feedback from the children themselves as well as teachers and family members has helped us identify key issues that need to be addressed through strategic behaviour change communication.
Film screenings of effective short films made from field-tested scripts on child safety and addressing child abuse. These are shown at schools, colleges, and community groups where parents and caregivers live. Our trained facilitators follow up with post-screening discussions and share information about helplines and counselling options.
Puppet shows and skits for smaller audiences (children or adults) in the context of workplaces, schools, health facilities and anywhere there is a captive audience. The smaller group allows for more meaningful discussions after the show
Maaya Changu is a 40-minute feature film produced by Nalamdana that tells an evocative story about child protection. It received an unprecedented commendation from the Censor Board for its sensitive and powerful handling of the issue of child abuse. It has been screened it more than 250 times so far at many schools and communities to raise awareness about child abuse prevention and model responses to prevent and address it.
Three decades, serving millions
Over the last three decades, Nalamdana has reached over 3.1 million people with vital health information and skills through a variety of innovative approaches. Watch this video for an overview of our work. Specific achievements include
- In just the last 6 years, Nalamdana has performed 61 community dramas, 141 puppet shows and school programs, and conducted 72 film screenings and discussions. It has held 12 health camps for truck drivers and produced 23 short films on key health issues.
- The organization has awarded over 341 educational scholarships to disadvantaged students to pursue higher education to fulfil their dreams through its Student Leadership program.
- Nalamdana also operates Thendral 91.2MHz, a government-sanctioned community radio station, thatfacilitatesoutreach efforts amongst vulnerable communities with entertaining and informative programs.
- The organization teamed up with oncological treatment centers in Chennai to research and develop locally appropriate cancer prevention and treatment support materials including short films, radio programs and print materials.
- With the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020, Nalamdana mobilized rapidly to use internationally validated health education guidelines to developed audio, video and print content in both Tamil and English to spread awareness about appropriate prevention and treatment measures.
- Nalamdana has partnered with companies like PayPal, Cholamandalam Finance, and Madura Micro Finance Limited to implement corporate social responsibility initiatives for their audiences.
