Schools to have story-telling clubs

[dwarakesh]

Nagercoil: Vasantham Trust, a non-governmental organisation based at Karungal in Kanyakumari district has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Development Programme (micro-capital grant agreement) for the implementation of a two-year programme for reducing stigma related to HIV/AIDS through story telling clubs among school children.

Speaking to The Hindu, Managing Trustee of the trust Chandra Kala said that it has been decided to form 36 story-telling clubs in schools in different parts of the district and 360 stories on stigma/discrimination will be developed and narrated.

More than 34,650 children were expected to attend the story-telling sessions.

Around 1,000 SHG members and 5,000 child labourers would participate in the programme.

More than 40 cultural programmes would be conducted and the participant children would highlight the evils of HIV/AIDS.

They would openly advocate access to education and nutrition to HIV affected or infected children.

The objectives of the programme is aimed at providing high quality scientific information on the spread and the effect of HIV to school children, women and child labourers and strive to remove the myths and misconceptions about the disease.

Source: Hindu