Thiruvananthapuram: The Green Army will bring children from the flood-affected areas in other districts to this year's Green Congress here so that they can offer suggestions for 'rebuilding a green Kerala.
' Green Army mentor Dr Ashin Mohan said, "none has yet asked what the children in flood-affected areas want."
He felt that children will be able to point to some solutions. "When Green Army was cleaning up households in Ranni and other flood-affected areas, we talked to children who offered interesting insights. One child told us that if they had cultivated food crops on the rooftop, they could have stayed there longer. Another child said that if their house had solar energy, their phones would not have run out of battery. We expect such insights to come up during the meeting," said S. Sharanniya, Green Army mentor. The ideas they share will be consolidated and submitted to the government.Green Army is a network of school students mentored by various Good Samaritan agencies and individuals in Thiruvananthapuram to help train them for making greener choices.
They introduced Green Congress last year as a finale for the year's activities.This year, the Green Congress will be a two-day event in which the first day will be dedicated to interactions with the children from flood-affected areas.
Mayor V.K. Prasanth had written to the district administrations of Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur to help identify the worst-affected areas. Green Army also took the help of local volunteers whom they had befriended during the city corporation's clean-up efforts.
The local teachers were also asked to identify 20 students from these areas. An equal number of Green Army members from Thiruvananthapuram schools have been chosen. This works like an exchange programme. In addition, 10 young volunteers from flood-affected areas have also been invited, who will team up with 10 college students who are Green Army volunteers.
