PETALING JAYA: In conjunction with the International Day of the Girl Child, P.S. the Children will be visiting schools to create awareness on child rights and personal safety.
Protect and Save the Children (P.S. the Children) is a Malaysian organization that focuses on the prevention, intervention and treatment of child sexual abuse
“Working with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as a basis, our central focus is the implementation of programs and services that promote and protect the rights of children to be free from sexual abuse and exploitation,” said P Nagasayee Malathy, Executive Director of P.S. the Children.
This year marks the second International Day of the Girl Child and the focus will be on education. Around the world, girls are not only deprived of education, but they are also punished for seeking knowledge.
The case of Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban after advocating for the need to educate Pakistani girls is one incident that brought this cause into focus.
Studies indicate that having girls stay in school significantly reduces the chances of child marriage and increases their future income by more than 20%.
In 2012, as part of the first International Day of the Girl Child, P.S the Children reached out to about 50 girls in Selangor to create awareness on their rights, build self-esteem and conduct motivation sessions.
“This year, we plan to reach out to about 700 girls in two schools,” said Malathy.
“The theme of this year’s event is: ‘I am a Girl, I am Special and I have Right to Protection’,” said Malathy.
“The objective of this event is to create awareness on Child Rights, personal safety and on the importance of the International Day of the Girl Child day,” she said.
“However, due to exams we are unable to conduct the program on 11th October,” said Malathy.
P.S. the Children will be visiting SMK (P) Methodist Kuala Lumpur on 17 October and SMK (P) Taman Petaling on 22nd October.
