Every Children’s Day, we talk about children. We post about them, celebrate them and make speeches about them. This year, we decided to write to them instead. Child Help Foundation is an NGO for children in India, and we believe the simplest words often reach the deepest. Here is a letter from all of us to every child. If there is a child in your life, please read it to them. Grown-ups, you might find a few lines meant for you as well.
Dear Child, Here Is What We Want You to Know
Happy Children’s Day!
Today belongs to you, so we want to tell you a few things that grown-ups often forget to say out loud.
You matter. Not only when you score full marks or win a medal. You matter just as you are, on an ordinary Tuesday, with messy hair and half-finished homework.
It is okay to say when you are not feeling well. If your tummy hurts, your head feels heavy, or you stay tired for too many days, tell a grown-up you trust. You are not complaining. You are taking care of yourself, and that is a smart thing to do.
Asking for help is brave, and you do not have to be perfect. Cricketers have coaches, scientists have teachers and even superheroes have a team. Mistakes are how you learn to ride a bicycle or read a new word, and trying again is all it takes.
Do play, too. Run in the mud, laugh until you get hiccups, fly a kite. Being a child is a full-time job, and the best one in the world.
Be kind, too, because kindness is a superpower. If a classmate is sitting alone, sit with them. If a friend is unwell and missing school, send a message or draw them a card. Small things like this make a hard day lighter.
If You Ever Feel Worried
Your worries are real too. Maybe you are scared of exams, or of a classmate who teases you, or of the dark. Big or small, they count. Talk to your mother, your father, a teacher, or a didi or bhaiya you feel connected to. Saying it out loud makes it lighter.
If you ever feel unsafe, or you see a friend who is hurting, first talk to an adult you trust. If you cannot reach anyone, or you need help right away, you can call Childline on 1098. It is free, it works day and night, and someone will listen.
A Promise From Us
There is one more thing we want you to know. Some less privileged children in India spend their Children’s Day in a hospital bed, or at home waiting for treatment their family cannot afford. Others miss school or go without a proper meal. Many of them are cheerful, curious and full of dreams, just like you. We think about them every single day, and so do the many people who stand beside them.
Child Help Foundation works every day to help poor children in India in many different ways, so they can get back to being children. You can be part of this too, in your own small way. Share this letter with your friends, and tell your parents about the children who are waiting for a little support.
Here is our promise to you: we will keep listening, keep showing up and keep working so that more children can be healthy, safe and happy.
With all our love and hope,What You Can Do This Children’s Day
- Read this letter to a child you know
- Ask a child how they are feeling, then listen
- Share this blog with a friend or colleague
- Give some of your time to a child who could use a kind grown-up
- Donate for poor children through Child Help Foundation. Even a small amount helps