By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: Two well-known Oriya child film artists Sunday joined hands with an NGO in Orissa to fight for the rights of the children in the state, an official said here.
Akanksha Kabi (12) and Nikita Mishra (11) who played roles in nearly a dozen of Oriya movies and serials were declared as goodwill ambassadors by the People’s Cultural Centre (PECUC) in a special function organised to launch for campaign to protect the rights of the children.
“They agreed to play a leading role to draw the minds of duty bearers for the cause of the children in our state,” PECUC’s secretary Ranjan Mohanty told IANS.
Akankshya, a class seven student, is a recipient of the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in 2009. She is also a national level chess player. Nikita Mishra reads in class six.
“We will try to do our best to bring the deprived children to mainstream,” the child artists said at the function.
Government figures say 1.87 lakh children never go to school in Orissa although the real number could be much higher. Majority of them are dalits and tribals, Mohanty said.