THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When people lost their life’s savings in the devastating flood, it was widely discussed. But, what about the pain and trauma of children who have lost their books or favourite toys? To address this loss, a city-based NGO, RIGHTS, has collected more than a thousand dolls, toy cars, footballs, crayons, storybooks, cricket bats and other materials from over 100 collection centres on the Kottayam-Thrissur route.
The idea was conceived by Radhalakshmi D O, director of RIGHTS, during the 2018 flood when she paid a visit to one of the relief camps in Pathanamthitta. “People were displaced and were sharing their grief of losing their belongings.
One child came up to me and said in a sorrowful voice that she had lost her only toy in the flood. This incident led me to start a toy collection drive, for which many people contributed generously,” says Radhalakshmi.
The objective is to give psychological support to children, whose woes are not addressed amidst the plight of their elders. Besides contributions from the public, some stationery shops also came forward.
“We went to many relief camps. One of the most depressing scenes was the plight of children who have lost their family members as well as their homes. Crayons and toys will bring back some colour in their life,” she said.
The organisation has already sent two ‘Kalippatta Vandis’ to the relief camps in Kozhikode. The vehicles were GPS-enabled and the route was accessed by the contributors through Google Maps. The organisation is still receiving toys and books.