Children admire paintings during the art exhibition at Shilpgram on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov. 20: The city’s underprivileged children today asserted their right to live and flourish through creative performances and paintings on the occasion of the 19th United Nations Child Rights Day.

Nearly 1,000 underprivileged children assembled at Shilpgram in Panjabari early in the morning and performed dramas, songs, dances and interacted with people from different walks of life throughout the day.

While the dramas portrayed various problems, including illiteracy and torture, events like songs, dances and painting exhibitions showcased the children’s talents.

The daylong programme, Rights Reality, was organised with the support of the Unicef, Ekta, an NGO, Snehalaya and the Jyoti Kendras of the Sarva Shiksha Abhijan.

“Earlier, we were not aware of the UN Child Rights Day. It was a beautiful experience, as we could interact with people and perform songs and dramas to highlight our problems and rights. The programme was a morale booster for us and many of us started thinking about our talents on a par with privileged children,” said Swapna Basfor, a student.

Priti Saikia, an artiste who runs the Bhabendra Nath Saikia Children’s Welfare Trust, inaugurated the event and said she was amazed by the children’s performance.

She said all the children possessed immense powers of creativity and the need of the hour was to groom them and give them the right to do well in life.

Nipurnh Gupta, the communication officer of Unicef, said the function was the result of a series of child rights workshops and training organised for children across the city. She said the children had been trained during the last two months to showcase their talents. “Many of the children scripted the dramas on their own. The painting exhibition also attracted large numbers of people. The painting could depict the emotion and trauma faced by the children,” she said.

“The children will suggest how to improve their lifestyle. These recommendations will be discussed during a meeting of the Unicef in the city on December 12 and 13. The meeting will chalk out ways to implement the recommendations,” Gupta said.