Some children draw pictures of mountains with gushing streams and colourful rainbows. Some, draw their families and friends. Some will outline activities which bring them joy in crayon—cricket, cooking, candy crush. And then some, will pick up a blank sheet and pencil to create an image of an armed soldier. What determines how a young child internalises the world around them? And in a world increasingly torn apart by active conflict as well as a generational memory of conflict, how do we protect the next generation from permanent mental scars?

In this episode, Parvathy Nair, a consultant in mental health and psycho-social support for UNICEF in Chhattisgarh sheds light on what happens to a child when they grow up in an area where the memories of conflict remain, how we can measure the impact of trauma and what determines the efficacy of child protection services.