Synopsis

Faith Foundation approached Girgit Studios to develop a set of films that could help children, parents, teachers and caregivers engage with one of society's most sensitive subjects—child safety and Child Sexual Abuse. Rather than creating standalone awareness films, we designed a pair of culturally rooted mascots and an educational film series that translated complex psychological concepts into conversations that felt safe, relatable and actionable for local communities across Meghalaya.

Understanding the Context

Child Sexual Abuse is among the most difficult subjects to communicate. Effective communication demands far more than simplifying information—it requires building trust, reducing fear and creating safe spaces for conversation.

Faith Foundation had already established itself as a leading organisation working on child protection and counselling in Meghalaya. Their team possessed deep expertise in child psychology, trauma and community engagement. Girgit Studios brought experience in designing child safety communication through earlier collaborations with organisations such as Tulir Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse.

The challenge was not to redesign child safety education, but to reimagine how it could be communicated within the unique cultural context of Meghalaya.

Designing for Culture

Every region communicates differently.

Working closely with the Faith Foundation team, we explored how Meghalaya's landscapes, architecture, language, clothing and relationship with nature could become integral to the communication rather than merely serving as a visual backdrop.

The resulting films consciously avoided generic representations of Indian children and communities. Instead, they embraced local environments, Khasi cultural references and familiar visual cues that enabled audiences to immediately recognise themselves within the stories.

Designing Trust — Creating Moi & Tiew

The project needed recurring characters that could engage audiences across an educational film series while remaining memorable beyond any single story.

We consciously moved away from human mascots. While child characters may have felt immediately relatable, they would have lacked the perceived authority needed to communicate sensitive subjects such as child rights, trauma and personal safety. Instead, we looked towards Meghalaya's rich natural heritage for symbols that audiences would instantly recognise and trust.

During collaborative mood-board sessions with the Faith Foundation team, the Maina bird and the Meghalaya orchid emerged as culturally meaningful icons. These evolved into Moi and Tiew—two recurring mascots inspired by the region's flora and fauna, designed to guide audiences through the educational film series with warmth, credibility and a touch of magic realism.

The mascots were also accompanied by the traditional Knup—Meghalaya's distinctive bamboo rain shield—which we adopted as a visual metaphor for protection and safety. Together, the bird, orchid and Knup created a locally rooted visual language that reinforced the project's core message of keeping children safe.

Rather than functioning as presenters, Moi and Tiew became narrative companions. Existing outside the human stories, they could observe situations, ask questions, provide reassurance and gently guide audiences without belonging to any particular family or community.

We intentionally designed two mascots rather than one. Dialogue creates engagement in ways that monologue cannot; it allows for observation, questioning, differing viewpoints and moments of humour. Their conversations became a vehicle for explaining difficult concepts naturally instead of relying on direct exposition.

Although voiced with childlike energy, Moi and Tiew communicated with the maturity and confidence of trusted adults. Their personalities complemented one another: Tiew is reflective, empathetic and emotionally perceptive, while Moi is curious, outspoken and adventurous. Gender was intentionally left open to interpretation, allowing the mascots to feel more universal and inclusive while subtly hinting at complementary feminine and masculine characteristics through their personalities rather than explicit visual cues.

From Education to Storytelling

The project expanded into a series of four educational films, each addressing a different aspect of child protection for a specific audience.

Rather than relying on fear or explicit depictions of abuse, the films focused on recognising emotions, trusting one's instincts and seeking help.

The series explored:

• Child Rights (Children)

• Understanding Child Sexual Abuse (Parents, Teachers & Caregivers)

• Understanding Trauma and its Impact (Parents, Teachers & Caregivers)

• Understanding Disclosure (Parents, Teachers & Caregivers)

Each film combined storytelling with practical guidance, allowing audiences to engage with difficult subjects in an accessible and emotionally safe manner.

Designing Emotional Safety

One of the project's guiding principles was that child safety education should never rely on frightening imagery.

Drawing upon our previous experience designing communication around Child Sexual Abuse, we deliberately avoided depicting abuse visually. Instead, the films focused on the emotional experiences children can recognise—feelings of discomfort, confusion and uncertainty.

Rather than teaching children to identify every possible form of abuse, the communication encouraged them to trust their feelings, say "No", and seek help from trusted adults.

This shifted the emphasis from fear to agency, empowering children while simultaneously helping parents and caregivers better understand children's emotional experiences.

The project culminated in a series of four educational films addressing different aspects of child protection. While the films remain part of Faith Foundation's internal training and outreach programmes and are not publicly available, the design process, mascot development and selected production artefacts presented below illustrate how culturally rooted storytelling was used to communicate sensitive topics across different audiences.

Backgrounds

Child Rights

Audience: Children

Communication Goal: Introduce the idea that every child has rights and deserves safety, dignity and care.

Understanding CSA

Audience: Parents, Teachers & Caregivers

Communication Goal: Build awareness of child sexual abuse, common misconceptions and preventive responsibilities.

Understanding Trauma and it's Impact

Audience: Parents, Teachers & Caregivers

Communication Goal: Explain how trauma influences children's emotions and behaviour after abuse.

Understanding Disclosure

Audience: Parents, Teachers & Caregivers

Communication Goal: Help adults recognise disclosure and respond with empathy and appropriate support.

Beyond the Films

Moi and Tiew were never designed solely for animation.

The mascot system extended across presentations, workshops, educational material and community engagement activities. Faith Foundation further expanded the communication system by developing life-sized mascot costumes for outreach programmes, allowing the characters to continue engaging children beyond the screen.

Project Impact

By combining culturally rooted character design, trauma-informed communication and storytelling, the project transformed complex child protection concepts into conversations that communities could comfortably engage with.

Rather than communicating through fear, the films built understanding, empathy and confidence—encouraging children to trust their feelings, caregivers to recognise signs of distress and communities to create safer environments for children.

The project demonstrates how communication design can extend beyond awareness campaigns to become a trusted educational system—one capable of adapting across films, workshops, classrooms and community engagement while remaining culturally meaningful and emotionally accessible.

Related Projects

Muskaan -A intensive HCD led short animated film rooted in Himachal Pradesh to bring about a mindset change on Gender Equality in the context of Female Fetecide.

https://www.girgitstudios.com/work/muskaan- 

Amlu — An animated fairy-tale introducing preschool children to conversations around personal safety.

Tickles & Hugs — Educational films helping children understand touching rules through age-appropriate storytelling.