Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi, its Rural Management Programme, and Bal Raksha Bharat, globally known as Save the Children organized a Roundtable discussion on "Child Rights with a special focus on Mental Health and coping with learning difficulties in its campus on Thursday.
Dr Joseph Marianus Kujur, Director XISS gave the welcome address and said, “When we think of child rights, what comes in our mind is rationale to human & child. Children in rural areas have no access to gadgets to facilitate the online learning process which deprives them of their right to education. We should help these children with mental, emotional, and moral support. We also need to engage in research and training with our stakeholders for policy advocacy. We should make it a campaign- Hum Andolan Layenge.”
Mahadev Hansda, State Programme Manager, Save the children, stated the importance of this event and said, “Post COVID, the mental health of children has been adversely affected. It is the role and responsibility of various stakeholders to safeguard the vulnerable section of society- “A CHILD”. This discussion of the round table will lead to a framework for policy advocacy which will be helpful for children.”
Ujjwal Prakash Tiwary, Member, JSCPCR, highlighted that proper care and protection can help a child flourish in the changing world when support is provided to their family in terms of employment.
A panel discussion was held where Dr Anant Kumar, Head of Programme, Rural Management Programme, XISS highlighted the aspects of mental health and the situation of policies for a child in the State. Dr Kanika Mitra, Chief of UNICEF, Jharkhand talked about mental health and psychosocial support and also coping mechanisms with learning difficulties. The moderator of this discussion was Madhukar, a Senior Journalist.