Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) was founded in the year 2000 in Bengaluru in India and was registered as a Public Charitable Trust on June 15, 2009. Today CMCA is a pioneer in the field of Citizenship Education in India which is educating children and youth to be knowledgeable citizens who are concerned, thinking and active for an inclusive and sustainable society. CMCA is volunteer driven and is dedicated to sensitizing children and youth to civic and democratic issues thereby improving quality and equality of life. Over the past year alone, CMCA has reached 17,000 children in 9 cities and 28 villages in Karnataka, through 300 volunteers in 300 schools.

On 5th Aug 2017, I was invited by LFJS and Vinodini to the CMCA annual festival captioned “Inspiration.” The whole experience was very moving, enjoyable and filled me with a sense of awe and gratitude to God. Nearly a thousand children from over fifteen schools assembled at Birla Matushree Sabhagraha (Auditorium) to celebrate their counterparts who contributed to society and to be inspired through their encouraging stories. Raveena Tandon, Actor and Ambassador of many social initiatives graced the event as chief guest.

The occasion saw children share accounts of rescuing child labourers, engaging with the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) to have civic amenities improved-Garbage bins installed, streetlights, drainage and water issues fixed and even instances of them standing up against discrimination in public places. Roars of applause poured in at the end of every story, and the positive energy in the auditorium was tangible.

Twenty-three student heroes were awarded prizes for being active citizens, who in their own way upheld the values of democracy. Fourteen year old Rabiya Sayyed and 14 year old Shoaib Ansari of Little Flower of Jesus High School were two among the 23 heroes who were felicitated and given awards. Rabiya lived in an area where there were no toilets. They had to defecate in the open. Taught by CMCA, to use BMC complaint Phone No. 1916, she persuaded the BMC every day, till she succeeded in getting a toilet for her home and nine more toilets for the residents of the area. Shoaib worked hard and succeeded in getting the BMC to repair the footpaths in his area and install street lights there. Sixty students of LFJS participated in the festival.

The enthusiasm and initiative taken by children to engage with the local authorities to solve issues in their neighbourhoods was an inspiration to adults. Citizen participation and simple individual efforts like reducing waste and recycling can make a big difference to the city and country. Children are important stakeholders in a country and it is during these formative years that they should be moulded and guided to understand their role as a citizen in a democracy. In doing this, CMCA hopes to create a generation of youngsters who will be Active Citizens.

Mudita Menona Sodder RSCJ
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, JPIC coordinator, Province of India.