A student felicitates a Poura Karmika. Pic courtesy: CMCA
Thousands of children from the member schools of Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness will be thanking Pourakarmikas across the city this month. The flag-off event for the Pourakarmika thanksgiving day was celebrated for the seventh consecutive year at the Rajkumar Gajinamane Hall, BBMP Head office, Bangalore.
Narayan, the president of the Pourakarmika Union, was present on the occasion. In his speech Narayan said, ”People look down upon Pourakarmikas in the society but an organization like CMCA recognizes the Pourakarmika’s work including health and hygiene. I am really happy about this”.
Children from CMCA Private and Government schools read out poems and messages in praise of the Pourakarmikas. They also presented thank you cards, flowers & sweets on the occasion. A couple of games organized saw delightful glee & participation from the Pourakarmikas.
The event elicited the following responses
Chandramma, a pourakarmika said, “I am thrilled to see the children respond with so much love and very happy to receive the card and flowers from the children”. While Padmamma, another Pourakarmika said, “Whether illiterate or literate they do not segregate garbage at home and when asked they shout at us and complain to our contractor”.
Through the month, around 5000 civic club members from 100 CMCA Bangalore member schools (private and government) will visit ward offices or invite Pourakarmikas to schools to thank them. The member schools will take this opportunity to thank the maintenance staff in their schools as well.
Citizen’s Participation
CMCA urges citizens of the city to participate by
- Thanking the Pourakarmika who comes to your house to collect waste. Celebrate the day in your office or building by inviting and thanking Pourakarmikas.
- Don’t dispose waste in street corners and empty plots. Wait for your Pourakarmika and hand over your waste.
- Be polite and sensitive to Pourakarmikas.
- Citizens must learn to segregate & separate waste.
About Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA)
CMCA is a 13-year-old volunteer driven, civil society organization that conducts a national ‘civic club’ program in schools across India. This systematic and structured intervention is dedicated to moulding and nurturing active citizenship in children and youth across the country. CMCA seeks to sensitize children and youth to civic & democratic issues thereby improving quality & equality of life. Over the past year CMCA has reached 15,184 children in 8 cities and 17 villages through 301 schools and 379 civic clubs. A dedicated group of 300 volunteers form the backbone of CMCA.
Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness
No. 346, 3rd Cross, 8th A Main, IV Block, Koramangala, Bangalore 560 034. India.
Tel: (080) 25538584 / 65834322 Email: headoffice@cmcaindia.org / www.cmcaindia.org
This content has been provided by Hibba Ratnakar of CMCA, edited and published by Citizen Matters as part of Message Forward, a non-profit service that allows individuals and organisations to impart public interest messages.
Addendum
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