Young ones of SOS Children’s Village were invited to attend an Independence Day event at route 206 bus stand this year. Krishna Chakraborty, chairperson, board of administrators, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, hoisted the flag and then members of Rotary Club Belur gifted toys to the kids.
“We wanted to celebrate this day with these children as they are the future of our country and assets of the state,” said Chakraborty.
SOS Children’s Village is a home for orphans. The BK Block branch has 102 children at present, out of whom 21 girls and three boys had been brought to the ceremony.
“I came here to celebrate Independence Day after hoisting the flag at our Village,” said Moni Das, 10. Her friend Koyel Mandi confessed that apart from hoisting the flag, she was excited about the chocolates and food packets she hoped to get at the event.
Members from Rotary Club Belur gifted outdoor games such as hula hoops, plastic balls, cricket balls, flying discs and badminton raquets to the kids. Given how children spend all their time on mobile phones these days, they felt outdoor games would make them go out and play.
Aparna Sen, a teenager who got a hula hoop, said she was happy with the toy and was excited to play with it.
“Generally we visit schools on August 15 as we can meet children there but things are different now due to Covid restrictions,” said Indira Goenka, president of the club. “So we requested Krishnadi to let us collaborate with her programme here and got some children from the Village over”.
Assistant director of the Village Nutan Arya said they were taking all Covid precautions. “Last year in September, some children tested positive but we managed to keep them separately in an empty building and the situation could be brought under control,” she said.