‘Privilege must never insulate, but empower’

The best way to break a taboo is to first acknowledge it and then have conversations around it Actoractivist both hats that Rahul Bose wears is doing that for Child Sexual Abuse CSA through his nongovernmental organisation aptly called Help Eradicate Abuse through Learning known by its acronym HEAL Students from the Cathedral and John Connon School have collected Rs 36 lakh for the HEAL Foundation as of now through United Way the charity partner of the Mumbai Marathon The collection effort is ongoing there are still a few days till that window closesStudents fund raisers at their schoolWorkshop wiseBose said at a recent meeting with the fundraisers aged from 13 to 17 in the SoBo school ldquoHEAL holds workshops across schools colleges and public spaces We talk about CSA beginning with what is CSA recognising CSA and laws around CSA In COVID times we had a lot of online workshops though now we are moving back to the physical spacerdquo He highlighted though that it was crucial that they tackle another component of CSA which is ldquoonline abuse which is now of significant proportionrdquoStudents have a world viewCause callBose welcomed the group of young fund raisers into the conference room at the meeting The HEAL founder was on familiar territory Cathedral is his alma mater having spent 10 years in the school The teenage students boys and girls stated they were ldquoencouraged to take up raising funds for the cause precisely because of the lsquodonotspeakaboutthisrsquo stigma still attached to child abuse though we agree mindsets are changingrdquo The fundraising started in mid2022 when students called adults in their immediate circle and beyond and explained the CSA conceptDr S ParmarThey said in response to a question about how they convinced people this was a legit cause and that money would be channelled for the right purpose ldquothe credibility was a given because most of whom we called asking to contribute to the cause were friends of parents and relatives Yet we referred them to the HEAL website and explained about workshops Nearly 1200 workshops have been held across the staterdquoAlso Read CBI files chargesheet against man in connection with sexual abuse case in Prayagrajs POCSO CourtRahul Bose founder HEALRahul Bose added ldquoThese workshops are not interactive They are educational awarenessbuilding workshops We are not there to get confessionals that is not our spacerdquo Passion for the cause and the zeal to reach out was evident from the studentrsquos perspectives Bose did the math He explained ldquoA workshop costs approximately R5000 when held in a physical space We have around about 50 persons outer limit per workshop Think about the number of workshops we can have and scope of outreach with these funds This has potential to stop so many cases of future abuserdquoStats speakAwareness was key to the conversations the students had with potential fund raisers stating that speaking about growing online abuse too was eyeopening The girls said ldquoAs girls we are made acutely aware of sexual abuse What these workshops teach is that you have the power to say no It also highlights that abuse is not relegated to a certain class it cuts acrossrdquoWhen out of the abuse context cutting across can have a happier meaning It can also stand for equality Mumbai Marathon was the vehicle for fundraising as it is an egalitarian event Not just the obvious that everybody is equal in the marathon but the fact that ldquoeven as spectators you are equal on the roadsrdquo stated BoseldquoYou with your privilege or class are standing next to a homeless person or a veggie vendor cheering on the runners on the roads There are no reservations for the best seat in the house here The front seat at the race is for all In that way this event closes the loop of this fundraising effortrdquo he saidThe powerSchool principal Dr Sonal Parmar PhD said with a smile ldquoI may be biased but numbers show these students have been fabulous The way they have juggled their time between school work and raising money shows the passion with which they engaged with the cause Cathedral is often seen as a privileged school and that may be true However privilege must never be allowed to insulate our children from larger realities but to help them empower themselves and othersrdquo signed off the school chief pride evident in her students2022The year fundraiser endeavour began