Orkut.com was the first social networking site we joined as an organisation, in a bid to reach out to an internet-savvy target group. That was December 3rd 2006, a time when horrifying things [Nithari/Scarlett Keeling] were yet to shake the general public out of it’s denial of the existence of CSA in Indian society.The Elaan-Combat Child Sexual Abuse community had 100 members within 3 days of its creation.

Today we are 964 members strong and have successfully collaborated with the owner of another community “Bloggeratti” and have concluded a themed poetry writing contest with the theme being “Child Abuse”. 

It is our pleasure to present the winner of the contest, Pali Tripathi =) 

This is her winning entry titled “Bread.Pieces”

Bread. Pieces

Bread. Pieces. Stale 
Spoon. Stained. Half 
Plate. Broken.One 
Pan.Dry. Empty 
Table. Brown. Dirty 
Door. Bell. Footsteps 
Silence. Fear. Apprehension 
Man. Thin. Tatters 
Eyes. Cold. Piercing 
Gazes. Afraid. Numb 
Sound. Loud. Harsh 
Child. Tears. Gurgle 
Bread. Pieces. Gone 
Faces. White. Wounded 
Mouths. Pained. Dry 
Door. Shut. Bang 
Father. Drunk. Asleep 
Mother. Deaf. Diseased 
Children. Dumb. Broken 
Life. Limp. Lost 
Love. Desired. Denied.
A special mention for this poem, which was a late entry, but made an impact on us all the same.

Helpless Tears

Gentle shower
Each drop trickling
From the white clouds
Each drop holds
Countless memories in its fold
As one goes down the next gets ready..
Glittering like a pearl
emerging with a blink
Leaving trails

Tears…
tears of blood
soon mingles with mud
swept away afar
Leaving indiscernable scar

Read the rest of this poem here..
ALL the poems tackled some aspect of Child Abuse and related abuse. Some contestants disclosed a personal experience while others empathized with the sadness, confusion, anger and helplessness of a young survivor of abuse. 
To be honest, it took us a few extra days to reach a conclusion ! 
We plan on releasing a little book of poems by the same community members as part of the performance arts based awareness campaign. 
Thank you Chris, and the Bloggeratti members !