KOZHIKODE: The district child protection unit (DCPU) in Pathanamthitta has come up with a programme to protect kids home alone during vacation. The Naattiloru Kootu programme primarily targets households of working parents. The kids would be housed at nearby Anganwadi where elder children take care of them. “Normally parents in tribal colonies had to go work daily. So the children will be alone at home though other people will be there next door. It was not safe for them, and hence the programme,” explained A.O. Abeen, Pathanamthitta DCPO. Kudumbashree workers will be roped in to find out such children. Students studying in Classes IX and X will be their caregivers who will lead classes.
“Classes meant singing, storytelling and other creative activities,” said Mr Abeen.
Already Kudumbashree workers had visited scheduled caste colonies in Naranammoozhy panchayat and Edayaranmula colony to identify such kids. “We daily come across incidents of sexual abuse or children being victim to drug addiction in these settlements. In most cases, known persons would be the culprit. So, providing a secure environment, especially to girls is paramount,” said assistant tribal development officer M. Mallika.
