Compassionate Citizen, PETA India’s programme for teaching children humane attitudes and respect towards animals, is based on the award-winning programme Share the World and available to schools throughout India free of charge.

Compassionate Citizen, which includes video, presentation and discussion components, touches the hearts of students and teachers alike by giving them a better understanding of how we can show compassion for animals. The programme has received extensive media attention and has even been featured in Education World, the popular and renowned magazine for teachers. Here are some recent highlights of the progress that the Compassionate Citizen programme has made:

PETA India representatives Tejal Raut and Padmavati Dwivedi were honoured to be a part of the Young Visionary event held in New Delhi last year. The annual event, which was inspired by a dynamic woman named Ms Punita, is organised by the Tehelka Foundation. It not only provides kids with their own platform, but it also promotes leadership qualities and helps showcase kids’ many talents. Arriving to a warm reception from a joyous crowd of vibrant, vocal and energetic children, the two presenters addressed the eager audience in a packed auditorium.

After distributing PETA India membership forms, Ms Padmavati Dwivedi gave an overview of PETA India’s campaigns to nearly 400 children. The children were impressed by the many celebrities who are involved in helping animals and applauded and cheered when Ms Padma showed them PETA India ads. Later in the afternoon, a quiz on animal rights and amazing animal facts was given to all the children. The children were grouped into teams of three and encouraged to choose the names of farm animals to represent their teams. Everyone had fun, and some teams even won prizes for doing well on the quiz. Another highlight of the presentation came when Tejal Raut presented a PETA India book to a child who was brave enough to share her poetry with the audience. After their appearance, the duo from PETA India thanked the entire team from the Tehelka Foundation and took photographs with them. Everyone was delighted with the programme and PETA India was invited to participate every year. 

Rupy’s International School, 26 May 2006
On 26 May 2006, PETA India presented the Compassionate Citizen programme to 172 students at Rupy’s International School in Kathmandu. One interesting aspect of this large institution is that it has many paintings done by Jan Salter, a local artist who has made Nepal her home for the last 30 years, displayed in the school. After a nice presentation that included a well-received video and talk, the PETA India presenters enjoyed lunch before moving on to their next engagement. 

Lincoln International School, 26 May 2006
On 26 May 2006, PETA India took the Compassionate Citizen programme to 200 students at the Lincoln International School in Kathmandu, Nepal. One teacher, who is an active member of the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT) and does lots of work to help stray dogs, was exceptionally helpful with the presentation at the school. The presentation began with the “Compassionate Citizen” video, which students and teachers from Class 1 through Class 4 thoroughly enjoyed, and it ended with a brief overview of PETA India and KAT. All the children were very excited about what they had seen and heard and expressed a desire to help both PETA India and animals. Before leaving, Tejal Raut distributed membership leaflets to the children who were thinking about becoming members of PETA India and handed out Compassionate Citizen packs to all interested staff members.

Deepshika School, 26 May 2006
On 26 May 2006, PETA India took the Compassionate Citizen programme to 200 students at the Deepshika School in Kathmandu, Nepal. The principal of the school, which has a boarding facility so that children from all over Nepal can study there, was very nice and helped PETA India’s Tejal Raut set up for the presentation. The programme, which was delivered in two sessions to the junior and senior sections, was well-received and enjoyed by all.  

The Club, 23 April 2006
On 23 April 2006, PETA India set up an informational stall and presented the Compassionate Citizen programme to 50 guests at The Club in Mumbai. The event, which was organised by Brand One event management company, Tata Aig and the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank was part of an investment-policy seminar for high-value clients.

During the breakfast session, PETA India’s stall, which was stocked with leaflets, T-shirts, calendars and other educational items, attracted a lot of attention, and many people inquired about becoming PETA India members. Later that day, everyone who was present watched and enjoyed the “Compassionate Citizen” video. After the video was shown, a PETA India representative who was dressed in an elephant costume took the children who were present to an outside hall for a drawing contest. All the kids enjoyed drawing and playing with the “elephant” and with balloons. PETA India gave calendars and other gifts to the children who participated in the drawing competition, and the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank distributed small plants to all the participants.

Gujarat, 1 April 2006
On 1 April, PETA India representatives drove for five hours on rough roads in order to bring the Compassionate Citizen programme to the Kasturba Vidyalaya, Bokhira, Porbander in Gujarat. At the school, which is a residential institute that houses students from nearby villages and other parts of Gujarat, the presentation was translated into Gujarati for 300 Class 6 through Class 9 students and a handful of teachers. Students enjoyed PETA India’s visit and prepared and served lunch to the presenters.

Sajjuba Girl’s High School, 31 March 2006
Although PETA India representatives had to travel on poorly maintained roads in the blazing heat to reach Jamnagar’s Sajjuba Girl’s High School on 31 March, the warm reception and support they received once they got there made the long journey very much worthwhile. The teachers even took time out of their busy board exam schedule to allow 20 students and 25 teachers to attend the Compassionate Citizen presentation. After the interactive session, PETA India’s Tejal Raut was honoured and touched as she was awarded the prestigious Lakhotia Lake Palace trophy. 

Municipal High School and Sarvodaya High School, 31 March 2006
On 31 March, PETA India had the pleasure of presenting the Compassionate Citizen programme to an enormous and eager audience of 600 students and 35 teachers at both Municipal High School and Sarvodaya High School in Bhayavadar.

Shah HD High School, 29 March 2006
On 29 March 2006, PETA India representatives drove four and a half hours to Unna to present the Compassionate Citizen programme to 35 teachers at the Shah HD High School. Even though many teachers were busy since it was the last day of the board exams, those who were able to watch the “Compassionate Citizen” video thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gujarat, 27-28 March 2006
On 27 March and 28 March, PETA India had the honour of introducing the Compassionate Citizen programme to Gujarat for the first time. All the Junagadh district coordinators were present, and despite a busy board exam schedule, 112 teachers, including many who were involved in the Eco Club and Karuna Club, also managed to attend one of the two sessions offered at Shri Krishna Vidya Mandir. Everyone found both the “Compassionate Citizen” video and the speech that was given afterward by PETA India’s Tejal Raut compelling and was anxious to receive the information packs that were distributed at the end of the presentation.

Vidya Sagar School, 5 January 2006
On 5 January 2006, representatives of PETA India gave a Compassionate Citizen presentation to 1,500 students and 70 teachers at the Vidya Sagar School in Indore. Also in attendance were the school’s principal, Mr Joshi, who was given a “Best Teacher” Award by President APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Khetawat and Mr Patel, the owner of the school. Following a screening of the video “Compassionate Citizen”, which everyone watched and enjoyed, the PETA India representatives led a question-and-answer session for two and a half hours. The students were intelligent, curious and knowledgeable about PETA India, so the session proved to be very engaging and interactive.

Utpal Shanghvi School, 1 March 2005
Responding to a request from student Akshay Shanghvi, PETA India presented its Compassionate Citizen programme to the Utpal Shanghvi School in Juhu on 1 March 2005. Organized by the Nature Club, the presentation was given to an audience of 500 students who were spellbound when watching the film they were shown and who screamed with delight when Jackie Shroff, John Abraham and Nafisa Joseph appeared on the screen. After the film, PETA India’s Tejal Raut led an activities session that focused on making humane choices. Both the teachers and the students were extremely grateful for the programme and presented the PETA India representatives with lovely ferns potted in ceramic containers that were handmade by the children. The teachers asked PETA India to come back to make a presentation to students in Grade 3 through Grade 5 and suggested starting an inter-school activity focusing on ways to stop cruelty to animals for some of the schools in and around Juhu, Bandra and Andheri. The teachers then graciously offered their auditorium for such a purpose. The PETA India presenters thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and knowing that the students and teachers enjoyed themselves, too, made all the difference.

New Municipal School, 21 December 2004
On 21 December 2004, a Compassionate Citizen workshop organised by Each One Teach One was presented to 850 students at the New Municipal School in Sion. The workshop was presented in batches because of the size of the audience, with the first version in Marathi for the 400 Marathi-speaking students and the second version in Hindi for the 450 Hindi- and Gujarati-speaking students. All the children were fascinated by the film they were shown. They really enjoyed seeing actor Jackie Shroff, and they burst into thunderous applause each time a different animal appeared on the screen. A question-and-answer session was conducted after each viewing and the students who gave correct answers were given prizes.

This was the first time the children had been exposed to such a workshop and they were naturally enthusiastic. The teachers, who appeared to be affectionate and to have bonded with the students, were equally happy and offered their sincerest gratitude. Mrs Jyothi Tanna, founder of the Each One Teach One Foundation, was also extremely pleased with the programme and asked PETA India to present it to the 8,000 children in Mumbai who attend the five municipal schools she works with there.

Mahindra Academy, 12 March 2004
More than 200 students and teachers at Mahindra Academy watched the Compassionate Citizen video and participated in games that encourage children to make compassionate decisions. Our Compassionate Citizen coordinator empowered students by teaching them valuable lessons, such as how to stand up to peer pressure and how to form groups to help care for animals. Students were also instructed to report incidents of cruelty to their teachers. At the end of the programme, one of the attendees noted that the Compassionate Citizen programme ‘teaches [students] to be the voice of animals who cannot speak for themselves’.

IIT Powai Campus School, 5 March 2004
Approximately 130 students from IIT Powai Campus School attended a Compassionate Citizen seminar. The presentation focused on community dogs and how to avoid harming them or being harmed by them. Many of the children realized that animals are very similar to humans, developed a deeper appreciation for them and agreed to leave water out for their animal friends in hot weather.

City Montessori School, 5-6 February 2004
City Montessori School, popularly known as ‘CMS’, is the world’s largest single-city private school. CMS was founded in hopes of inspiring students to value the welfare of all living beings. During a presentation at this school, our Compassionate Citizen coordinator explained that the welfare of humans is strongly connected to the welfare of animals. Over the course of two days, principals and teachers organized competitions for children based on themes of love and respect for animals. Consequently, a representative from Hindu Times-PACE requested that the Compassionate Citizen programme visit other Indian cities, such as Calcutta.

SPJ Sadhana School, 29 January 2004
The SPJ Sadhana School was founded in 1984 by Dr Radhika Khanna, who has worked on behalf of the mentally challenged for the past two decades. An audience of 60 children giggled with joy as they watched the Compassionate Citizen video ­ especially the part that shows an orangutan in the rain using a huge leaf as an umbrella! The teachers, who initially feared that the Compassionate Citizen message of kindness would not be understood by mentally challenged children, were touched by their students’ response and asked that the Compassionate Citizen programme return to their school every year.

Wadia Hospital, 24 December 2003
Bai Jerbai Wadia is a children’s hospital that was established in 1929 and currently has the capacity to house 250 children. Many of its patients suffer severe pain from burns and various types of surgery. Despite their suffering, many of the children who were well enough to attend the Compassionate Citizen presentation were visibly moved by its teachings. At the conclusion of the presentation, ‘Santa Claus’ arrived with a sack full of presents and distributed gifts to 190 children.

Add Compassionate Citizen to Your Curricula
On completion of the Compassionate Citizen programme, students and teachers have gained a deeper understanding of how to co-exist peacefully with animals. The Compassionate Citizen programme, poster and video are available to schools and teachers free of charge. For more information, please visit CompassionateCitizen.org.