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MEDIA-INDIA: Child Scribes in Villages Raise Development Issues

Nitin Jugran

TONK, Rajasthan, Jun 3 2008 (IPS) - Children should be seen, not heard – an adage that remains in practice in most parts of rural India even today where the orthodox patriarchal traditions continue to hold sway in tightly-knit local communities.

It is nothing short of revolutionary then that children in some villages of Rajasthan, the largest state in the country and one of the most backward, have assumed the role of the media to tackle social and development issues which they proclaim concerns their wellbeing and future.

These dynamic grassroots youth reporters have actually begun impacting policy decisions in villages in Tonk district, situated about 120 km away from the state capital, Jaipur.

Thirteen-year-old Savitri was distressed by the situation created by loose live electric wires hanging low over fields in her village. The villagers were unable to work and tend their crops as a result. Despite several complaints to the electricity department, no actions were taken for several months by officials.

There was panic in Chanpura village (estimated population 2,000) when a buffalo was electrocuted and died.

At this point, an indignant Savitri decided to take matters into her own hands and shame the apathetic power department. The intrepid youngster wrote a short impassioned piece on the problems faced by the villagers of Chanpura, highlighting the electricity department's negligent attitude. The article was published in the local newspaper and the red-faced authorities were forced to pay heed to the villagers' grievances.

Anand Yadav, 16, of Mendwas village, has launched a written crusade to improve the power situation in his village of roughly 5,000 people. "Out of 24 hours, we get electricity only for 12 hours and even then it goes on and off," declares the exasperated youth. Repeated complaints and appeals to the concerned authorities have so far fallen on deaf ears, but Anand is determined to carry on his campaign to the end.

He is optimistic and not without reason because it is due to his and his younger sister Suman's journalistic efforts that the health department was compelled to acknowledge the sorry health status of women and children in their village. There is neither a health centre nor medical facility.

In nearby Khandwai village with a population of 2,500, 12-year-old Dilip Singh, despite his tender years, is stirring the interest and respect of elders with his door-to-door visits imparting awareness about sanitation and good health practices such as polio drops for children under 5 years and iodine intake. He also writes a daily bulletin on the problems and issues of the villagers which is pinned on the notice board of the local panchayat (local government) office.

These enthusiastic young scribes are part of a unique initiative launched by the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, in collaboration with the government of Rajasthan to involve youth in village planning and development.

Entitled ‘Gram Shakthi’, the project uses an integrated village-based approach and was launched in May 2007 in all the 1,030 villages of Tonk district. It is being implemented by six NGOs in the six blocks of the district and is overseen by national-level NGO, Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK).

As part of the village planning process, 54 child reporters were nominated by the community as volunteers to take forward the process of awareness generation, leading to community mobilisation for social, physical and economic development.

The need for children's participation in the project was felt because in most societies children have no say in matters concerning their welfare, states Mahesh Kumar Sharma, NYK's district youth coordinator. Explaining the selection process, he says the 54 youth reporters, in the age group 11-18 years, were selected from 27 schools after a rigorous examination involving essay writing, oration and extempore speech.

They were then enrolled into an extensive training programme aimed at enhancing their skills to present various problems in order to find solutions.

The brother-sister partnership of Anand and Suman exemplifies the success and relevance of involving youth in the developmental process of a community.

For Suman, the project has given her a new understanding of her role as a responsible citizen of her village. "Girls are not encouraged to go out of their homes or villages, but I do both as a legitimate journalist representing my community," she asserts, proudly. More importantly, she stresses, the project has empowered her and given her a voice which commands the respect of both her peers and elders.

"The training programme made me realise that youth have an equal responsibility towards the development and welfare of our community," adds Anand.

Armed with their identity badges and notebooks, the siblings are familiar sights in and around the village. Ashok Paliwal, who runs a telephone booth in the village, is full of praise for them. "We get more news from these children than from the local paper because their write-ups pertain to the specifics issues concerning our village", he observes.

The child reporters have given visibility to issues such as compulsory registration of births and deaths and the importance of institutional deliveries, iodised salt, safe drinking water, hygiene and care of pregnant women.

Frequently, they send their articles to the local newspapers and many have appeared in print, points out Meenakshi Sharma, block coordinator of Rajasthan Public School Sanstha (RPS), one of the local NGOs implementing the project.

"Through the medium of the daily village news bulletin, we want to promote brotherhood and communal harmony and eradicate social discrimination," she explains.

Young Dilip takes his civic responsibilities very seriously. "Most people don't know about existing government welfare schemes, so how can they avail of them?" he asks. "I go regularly from house to house informing my community members of all the latest schemes."

Dilip has found a staunch supporter and mentor in his village headman, Ladulal Bhairwah, 40. "I encourage and indeed, appeal, to all the child reporters to find out what are the ills plaguing their villages so that we can take positive steps to correct these," he says.