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Now a public art campaign against child trafficking

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New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) “#ChokeTheDemand”, a city-wide project against commercial sexual exploitation of children driven by a widespread demand for them in the sex industry, highlights the glaring issue through a creative blend of wall art and technology.

Life-sized murals, on commercial sexual exploitation of children, in three locations — Connaught Place, Malviya Nagar metro station and Vasant Kunj — are a joint initiative of petition platform Change.org and The Missing Public Art Project.

Painted by artists Leena Kejriwal and Amogh Lux in the form of provocative comic strips on patriarchal comments that encourage sexual violence against girls, the massive murals loom above passers-by and trigger dialogues about trafficking children as young as nine or ten years of age.

“Trafficking is demand driven. The demand being created by the public leads to the supply of girls. To rock this boat, it is very important to create awareness on their role,” said Kejriwal, who founded the Missing Public Art Project in 2014 to spark conversations on sex trafficking of young girls.

In their previous projects, the “Missing” team painted black silhouettes of a young girl on public walls to symbolise the girls missing due to trafficking.

What fuels the demand-and-supply cycle of sexual exploitation of children is the easy availability of at-risk children who are trafficked to feed the demands of exploiters guised as “customers”.

The interactive murals aim to “shake status quo on trafficking for sex and begin conversations on demand for minor girls in commercial sex industry” and nip the demand right in the bud.

Acting as an interesting visual peg for conversations, the murals claim the urban public space, as a Facebook chatbot spurs conversations online.

“The ‘Missing’ team has designed an interactive user interface that anyone can scan and have a conversation with, through the Facebook chatbot,” the Project said in a statement.

Change.org said: “This art-tech synergy is a great place to start a conversation on this issue, and we hope that our message on choking the demand (for children) is taken forward through this artwork on Delhi’s streets.”

With Delhi as its second stop, the “Missing” mural walk was rolled out in Kolkata in 2017 as “Hunt for the Lost Durga”.

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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