How A IFS inspired children to give up slingshots?

IFS Inspires Children To Give Up Slingshots And Save Birds, Wins Hearts

Is beating and punishing kids the only way to teach them? Do the lessons learned by young kids inspire and bring positive change in society in the future? Well, we happen to ask these questions to talk about the importance of early learning and how IFS Anand Reddy teaches children to protect the environment. 

Some may happen to ignore the larger consequence of children playing with slingshots and this often ends up hurting or killing the birds. However, instead of punishing the children, they should be made aware of their responsibility towards other creatures co-existing with us on earth. In a recent viral tweet, an IFS officer is winning the internet for inspiring children to give up slingshots and save birds.

Taking to Twitter, Anand Reddy, ACF, West Nashik, shared a picture of slingshots, also locally known as galor, saying: “You see a cute bird. And you see a cute kid. Then you see the kid kill the bird with this slingshot.” Sharing his dilemma about the situation, he asked: “Will you punish the kid?”

He explained how the innocent game of little children around many villages have a serious impact. “It leads to empty forests — no birds, no chirping, no singing. Only silence!”

Here's a dilemma..

You see a cute bird. And you see a cute kid. Then you see the kid kill the bird with this slingshot. Will you punish the kid?

This is very common in many villages in Nashik. It leads to empty forests — no birds, no chirping, no singing.
Only silence! pic.twitter.com/XDg85fcbz2

— Anand Reddy, IFS (@AnandReddyYellu) July 5, 2021

So, what did Mr Reddy do to “make these innocent kids stop using galor (slingshot)?”

He suggested a four-point solution: “By talking to each child. By telling each kid how painful it is. By making them promise never to use it again. By nudging them to ‘voluntarily surrender galor’.”

So how to make these innocent kids stop using galor (slingshot)?

By talking to each child.
By telling each kid how painful it is.
By making them promise never to use again.
By nudging them to "voluntarily #surrender Galor"

In short, by winning their hearts! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ktxTIzjrM3

— Anand Reddy, IFS (@AnandReddyYellu) July 5, 2021

In the “heartening” response of the initiative since its inception on World Environment Day on June 5, 2021, Mr Reddy said that “kids from 68 villages took the pledge”, and added that “590 galors were voluntarily surrendered”. On the occasion of World Environment Day, the IFS officer from Maharashtra said he started the initiative — ‘Galor Samarpan Abhiyan’, encouraging children to voluntarily give up their slingshots and vow not to harm birds. Sharing the joyous news about the success of the initiative, he said how over the last month his team managed to inspire children. Now, the inspired children in the villages themselves are taking the initiative forward and even helping raise public awareness about such environmental issues.

“The strongest weapon a soldier takes to war is the reason WHY” Once our green warriors found the purpose, they worked relentlessly — nights, weekends & in rains to reach out to every kid. It was great to see true #Teameffort!,” he tweeted.

The netizens showered love towards the approach of the IFS to inspire children to be tender towards nature. Indeed, it is rightly said — “Change a child, you’ll change a generation.”

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