• Chief Guest: Honourable Shri Justice B. Veerappa, Judge, High Court of Karnataka & Executive Chairman, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority
• Guest of Honour: Shri H. Shashidhara Shetty, District Judge & Member Secretary Karnataka State Legal Services Authority
• Legal literacy and fundamental rights were discussed extensively with children and caregivers

Bengaluru/ 15^th March 2022 – India’s largest self-implementing childcare NGO, SOS Children’s Villages of India, recently organized a Legal Awareness Session in Bengaluru to empower women and children with the knowledge of their legal rights and duties. Legal literacy and fundamental rights were discussed extensively with children and caregivers of SOS Children’s Villages of India including Right to Education, Right to Information, Juvenile Justice Act, Child Labour Act, Human Trafficking, amongst others.

The audience was addressed by the chief guest Honourable Shri Justice B. Veerappa, Judge, High Court of Karnataka & Executive Chairman, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, and guest of honor Shri H. Shashidhara Shetty, District Judge & Member Secretary, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority.

Extending his greetings, Honourable Shri Justice B. Veerappa said, “Serving the vulnerable is such a noble gesture. I feel that after my retirement I would like to come to SOS Children’s Village  Bengaluru to teach the children and become one part of the SOS family. It will give me much happiness. I am impressed to see the children being encouraged to pursue careers in various fields, be it science, commerce or arts. I wish for children to study well and excel in their careers, appear for UPSC, IPS, IAS, and KAS, among others. You may dream to become whatever you like, but the realization of the dream is anchored on determination and hard work.”

Stating the importance of legal awareness, Shri H. Shashidhara Shetty, District Judge & Member Secretary Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, appreciated the organisation’s model. He emphasised on the importance of protecting the rights of children and said, “Children are future leaders; it is our responsibility to provide them care, love and protection empowering them to become responsible citizens. I would like to highlight two things which the children in Child Care Institutions struggle to attain: one is getting an ‘Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme’ that aims to provide free access to health insurance coverage for low-income earners in the country.  Another is not being able to procure a Caste or Community certificate.” He urged the government to incorporate a chapter regarding legal rights and duties in school education, along with an interactive session each week to create legal awareness amongst children.

Around 150 children, ranging from 6 to 18 years of age, along with 30 SOS Mothers, participated in the session.

The session shed light on child rights and how use the respective legal provisions as a tool to fight injustice faced.