Tamil Selvi, a class 9 student of Allikuzhi village in Tiruvallur district, conducted a survey among the children in her hamlet, to try and understand the problems they faced during the lockdown. Most wanted the government to close Tasmac shops, as their fathers were wasting money on alcohol.

A total of 260 children like her, who are part of the Federation of Children’s Movement for Right to Participation (FCMRP) in Chennai and other districts, have been involved in taking these survey in their villages and towns. The main purpose of this activity is to understand the opinion of children during the lockdown, and to collect their recommendations and submit it to the government.

From their fathers’ drinking problems to the fear of child marriages and the spread of COVID-19 due to the lack of physical distancing in their locality -- there were a range of problems highlighted by the children during the survey.

“I spoke to some children in my village and they said that their fathers were spending money on alcohol instead of using it to purchase groceries or saving. There was domestic violence due to this and children were badly affected,” said Ms. Tamil Selvi, who aspires to become an IAS officer. She wants to submit a petition to the Tiruvallur Collector to close the Tasmac shops in the district.

She said that the government should provide groceries and rice to all the houses in her village. “We got it only twice in all these months. Most of the families are struggling without money,” she added.

Another child who conducted the survey is R. Pushpa of Semmenchery. “I spoke to 600 students. They were worried about the lack of money to purchase books and stationery when school reopens,” she said. The girls in the locality also expressed fears about child marriage due to poverty in the family. “Most of them want to pursue higher studies, but are frightened about their future,” she said.

Sam Dicrose, 16, who took a survey in parts of Chennai said that the main fear among children was about dropping out from school. “Many of their parents do not have jobs and they will not be able to spend money on education. This will invariably lead to an increase in child labour,” he said.

The children in slums in Chennai were also frightened about contracting the virus. “There is hardly any space for physical distancing in the slums. However, many children in the city were happy as their fathers were spending more time with them as Tasmac shops were still not open in the city,” he added.

Virgil D’ Sami, State convener, Forum for Promotion of Child Participation (FPCP), in partnership with Unicef, conducted the study with the participation of children from FCMRP. “We covered around 11 districts to understand the problems of children,” she said.