Indiantelevision.com Team

(21 February 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Voluntary organisation Cry has launched a participatory global campaign - ‘Race for Cry’, an online marathon aimed at spreading the message of Child Rights and garner support for the cause.

Supporting Cry in this endeavour is HDFC NRI banking. Participants across the globe will compete in the ‘Race for Cry’ a virtual marathon on a common platform for a period of six weeks.

Cry CEO Ingrid Srinath says, “News about children’s rights being violated in India are flashed almost everyday. If that angers us, each one of us must seek the David within and chip away at this seemingly undefeatable Goliath. In a scenario where parents in rural and urban India battle everyday against age-old bias of caste, class and gender for their children’s well being, a simple click of your mouse will encourage their efforts.

"Your participation in the ‘Race for Cry’ - virtual marathon is a vote of confidence, a symbol of the belief that we can together create an India in which all children have an equal chance to a childhood.”

HDFC Bank executive VP, retail banking Shyamal Saxena says, "We feel proud in partnering Cry in its endeavor to motivate people from across the globe to do their bit to improve the situation of Underprivileged children in India. This is one cause that is very close to our heart and we relate to."

The use of a viral medium to campaign for a cause globally by a non-profit organization in India is a first of its kind. Today, email and internet being the most personalized medium, Cry intends to leverage the tool to generate awareness about child rights and involve netizens in the cause. For an not-for-profit organisation like Cry, this medium is cost-effective too.