The Children Islamic Organisation (CIO) actively participated in Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s nationwide Rights of Neighbours (Huqooq-e-Hum Saaya) campaign, held from 21st to 30th November 2025, through a special child-centric initiative titled “My Neighbour, My Friend.” The campaign aimed to nurture empathy, social responsibility, and neighbourhood harmony by translating moral values into lived experiences – through children.
Inspired by the profound teaching of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ– “Jibreel continued to advise me about the neighbour until I thought he would make him an heir” – the initiative sought to revive the prophetic spirit of kindness, care, and mutual responsibility from an early age. Rather than confining the message to sermons or slogans, CIO encouraged children to practise these values within their own neighbourhoods, classrooms, and communities.
To ensure meaningful engagement, CIO developed a well-structured, child-friendly plan (mansuba) built around children’s creativity, emotions, and real-life interactions. Learning was designed to happen through participation rather than instruction. CIO units across different states implemented the programme with enthusiasm, with children themselves leading activities under mentor guidance.
Across the country, children expressed the message of neighbourly rights through drawings, posters, speeches, role plays, and street plays (nukkadnataks). Rallies organised in cities such as Gulbarga, Akola, Bagalkot, Koppal, and Raipur carried simple yet powerful messages of harmony, cleanliness, sharing, and peaceful coexistence into public spaces.
Street plays performed in Harda, Bhopal, and Indore drew the attention of local residents and created moments of reflection through relatable storytelling.
In Madhya Pradesh, children took to the stage with confidence. Public speaking programmes (Khitaab-e-Aam) in Chhindwara and Jabalpur allowed young participants to articulate the importance of respecting neighbours and living peacefully, leaving a strong impression on listeners from the community.
Several units also adopted creative and contemporary methods to spread the message. Beautiful, thoughtful reels released by CIO Maharashtra and UP East used digital storytelling to convey values of kindness, care, and social responsibility, helping the campaign reach a wider audience beyond physical gatherings.
One of the most inspiring moments of the campaign was the “Marching for Harmony” rally in Bengaluru, where children were joined by doctors, professors, and other professionals from the community. Their participation not only encouraged the children but also sent a powerful message – that nurturing harmony is a shared responsibility across generations.
In Rajasthan, the campaign took a family-centric turn. A well-organised family get-together brought children, parents, and neighbours together in a warm and engaging environment, reinforcing the idea that good neighbourly relations begin at home.
Elsewhere, reel-making competitions in places such as Koppal, Mandla, and Akola enabled children to creatively express the campaign’s message using tools familiar to their age group.
Practical action formed the heart of the initiative. Children exchanged greeting cards and small tokens of goodwill with neighbours, visited elderly residents, participated in cleanliness drives, and made conscious efforts to resolve differences within classrooms and neighbourhoods. Weekly CIO sessions included neighbourhood-mapping activities, crafts, brain games, and Qur’an-based discussions linking faith with everyday conduct.
The campaign also received a positive response from several schools, with many schoolchildren participating under the theme “Classmate Is Also a Neighbour.” This expanded the understanding of neighbourly responsibility beyond geographical boundaries and helped children practise empathy and respect within their immediate learning environments.
The impact of the campaign was clearly visible. Parents and mentors observed increased sensitivity, confidence, and cooperation among children. Many families shared that children-initiated conversations at home about caring for neighbours and maintaining harmony. In several localities, CIO children were appreciated as sincere messengers of goodwill, strengthening bonds within communities.
Through “My Neighbour, My Friend,” the Children Islamic Organisation meaningfully complemented Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s national Rights of Neighbours campaign by empowering children as ambassadors of harmony. By blending Islamic teachings with creativity, service, and community engagement, CIO reaffirmed its commitment to nurturing compassionate, socially responsible, and value-driven future citizens across India.
[The writer is Executive Committee Member, Children Islamic Organisation (Delhi)]