Youth Incorporated Magazine

Mumbai – In time for Children’s Day (14 November), a Compassionate Kid Award is on the way from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to 13-year-old Anya Kunder, daughter of celebrated Bollywood filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan Kunder, in recognition of her work to help homeless animals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because community animals are dependent on restaurant waste and handouts, many struggled on the streets during the lockdowns, so Anya came to their rescue by sketching celebrities’ animal companions in exchange for Rs 1,000 donation. She raised Rs 4 lakh for numerous animal welfare charities, including PETA India. She also helped feed community animals at Mumbai University’s Kalina campus and joined her mother in encouraging people to help community animals by giving them food, water, affection, and veterinary care. The duo even adopted Indian dogs Gulab and Jamun.

“At just 13 years old, Anya Kunder has made tremendous impact for vulnerable community dogs,” says PETA India Associate Director of Education and Youth Outreach Puja Mahajan. “This Children’s Day, PETA India celebrates her for giving people of all ages a lesson in practising kindness to animals.”

PETA India encourages schools to teach students to follow Anya’s lead, and its Compassionate Citizen programme – which is designed for students between the ages of 8 and 12 and has been used by over 1.9lakh schools, reaching approximately 89.8million children across India – can help. The programme includes a teacher’s guide, a colouring sheet, a kindness pledge that children can sign, a full-colour wall poster, an engaging 23-minute video, and an insert listing easy ways teachers and schools can encourage students to help animals.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.