Appeal and Reach

Appealing to children across a large region

Three-year-old Sareena, who lives in Bangalore, is among Chamki’s fans. Her mother tells international research director Seeta Pai that a few days after Sareena began watching Galli Galli Sim Sim, the little girl assigned Muppet names to each member of her family, saving the name “Chamki” for herself. Her mother thinks shy Sareena looks up to Chamki because she wishes to be more open and self-assured, to ask questions and take charge, just like Chamki does.

Aman with Chamki.

Chamki’s appeal reaches across many miles to a very different part of India. Aman, a four-year-old boy who lives in a slum outside Delhi, watches Galli Galli Sim Sim at a child care center called abalwaadi. There, Chamki helps him learn letters and numbers, and teaches him about being friends, and in his words, “taking turns” with all kinds of children.

Aman is one of many Indian children without access to preschool learning materials. According to Mira Kamdar, author of the bookPlanet India, “only 65 percent of India’s preschool-age children in rural areas and 52 percent in urban slums can access existing early-childhood education resources.”

With this in mind, Sesame Workshop’s outreach coordinators pay close attention to marginalized children, and bring Galli Galli Sim Sim episodes and related print materials to a wide range of children. Some of these materials are being delivered via repurposed vegetable carts carrying battery-powered televisions and DVD players.

With one out of six children in the world living in India, many of them among the world’s poorest, the potential for positive change is breathtaking. Sesame Workshop hopes many children will benefit from the message Chamki whispered to Aman when the two met recently, “Stay in school, study, work hard; there isn’t anything you can’t do.”




Funding Partners
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Turner Entertainment Networks Asia
ICICI Bank Limited

Production Partners
Miditech
Turner Entertainment

Broadcasters
Doordarshan
Turner (Cartoon Network, POGO)