Mobile van campaign to get children to anganawadis in Karnataka

By Christine Susan Shine


BENGALURU: In an innovative initiative to address the learning needs and promote healthy living among marginalized children from waste picking families, the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) launched a mobile van campaign.

Over the next 10 days, the mobile van will reach out to 5,000 households, with the aim of raising awareness among 20,000 community members. The campaign will work in close partnership with 25 anganawadi centres and 25 government schools, targeting children aged 3 to 6 for enrollment.

The mobile van campaign builds on the success of last year’s initiative, where the vans were used to educate people about Covid-appropriate behaviour, menstrual health and hygiene, and water and sanitation practices. The visually appealing vans have proven to be an effective medium for raising awareness and engaging with the community.

The project is in collaboration with Save the Children, and is funded by H and M Foundation as part of the Saamuhika Shakti initiative. The campaign was inaugurated by S Siddharammanna, Deputy Director of DWCD, Karnataka. The campaign seeks to bridge the educational gap by providing integrated education, child-friendly sanitation facilities, handwashing stations, and safe drinking water to 30 slum communities. Rupali Goswami, communication and campaign manager for South India, Save the Children said, “Our intention is to ensure every single child from these waste-picker communities is enrolled in the nearest anganwadi centres. We provide a play- based approach, emphasizing visual learning, and conduct training programmes for anganwadi workers to create a joyful environment. These anganwadi centres are free and accessible to all.”

The officials said that parents are now enthusiastic about sending their children to the anganwadi centres after having witnessed positive changes in children’s behaviour and learning processes.