A new-age play initiative for children in Chennai

“These days, they just want to watch TV or stick to their gadgets. They miss getting sunlight and natural dirt on their skin. Being a football player myself and having spent a lot of time outside playing as a kid, this state of affairs really pained me as an adult,” says Roshan, one of the three friends.

So they decided to take matters into their own hands. Roshan, Sindhuja and Ram came together to start a unique initiative, STEP 126, that stands for Save-The-Earth Police: a space for children that would ensure they become environmentally-aware, understand the outdoors, and learn life lessons in a kid-friendly manner. “126 is the area code of the location of our space that is in Sithalapakkam. After testing out the project with some focus groups, now it’s been a couple of months since we launched,” Roshan explained.

Primarily a space to host events such as birthdays, picnics and family get togethers, STEP 126 doubles up as a learning platform to teach children about concepts such as waste segregation, handling organic gardens, water consumption, recycling, and so on through a series of activities that are designed for kids in the form of fun and games - but with meaning. From vegetable patches and herb gardens to installations and workshops, the area is teeming with interesting initiatives. The kids are taken care of safely, so that the parents can also sit back and enjoy their outing.

“We see families spending Rs 30,000 on a birthday to take kids to a cafe or restaurant, for food and balloons. Wouldn’t it be rather better to inculcate some essential values during such events? That’s what we hope to achieve,” they tell us.