Slum dwellers to walk Messi & Co out

New Delhi: Glad tidings are in store for four children from the most marginalised communities in

Kolkata as they have been chosen to walk the Lionel Messi-led Argentina and Venezuela players out into the ground ahead of the friendly match at the Salt Lake stadium on September 2. While millions of Messi`s fans will have to be content with watching the match live on TV, these children will be standing at an arm`s distance from the genius, thanks to an initiative by "Save the Children", a child rights organisation that works in India and in over 120 countries across the world. The organisation has has been chosen as cause partner for the match to be played in Kolkata. Each of these four children is either a child labourer or has been rescued from hazardous child labour situations. Fourteen-year-old Rajen Bhuia is one of them. "I go to Salt Lake everyday to practice for three hours early in the morning and I am a player of the team East Calcutta District Force, Kishalaya. To watch Messi play live will be the most unforgettable moment of my life. One day, I want to be a football player like him," said Rajen, who is a resident of Tangra slums. Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children, said: "Messi was fortunate to overcome a growth hormone deficiency to become the legend that he is today but for millions of children in India, surviving beyond the age of five is a big question mark. Nearly 2 million children under the age of 5 die every year in India. This should not be so." "Using the platform provided by the match we would like to draw the attention of people that they too can and must contribute to making a change in the lives of children," Chandy added. PTI