Junior journos creating ripples in Bihar

(Published in Deccan Herald on January 15, 2012 in special features)

“There is no Hindi teacher in this area,” screamed a headline and the news item went on to highlight the hardships faced by a good number of students in the densely populated Vaishali district of Bihar. The news item was the lead story in a newsletter brought out by schoolchildren. Many said it’s just a wastage of time as a newsletter run merely by “amateur children” can hardly bring any change in society, but it could hardly break the assion of the young reporters who vowed to fight against all kinds of existing evils in their society.

Proving all such speculations wrong, the hard work of these kids proved fruitful. The state education department had to appoint a teacher hastily after it reported about the absenteeism. Buoyed by the success, it reported on how the teachers were playing truant too often at Shivnandan School in Rajapakar and the administration was compelled to intervene.

These were some of the incidents which were not reported by the mainstream newspapers, but highlighted by the school students of the district in their newsletter. The newsletter is brought out by the young journos taken up as a pilot project by Unicef and Supramental Foundation in Vaishali district in Bihar. Started in June 2010 with merely 60 members, the team now has 300 volunteers.

“We started with rags with a few volunteers, but now the circulation of the newsletter has notched up to 5,000,” Nipurnh Gupta, Communication Specialist, Unicef (Bihar), told Deccan Herald. In the district, children between the age group of 12-17 years have formed among themselves to what they term as “child reporter brigade” and they are on their toes 24x7 to highlight the problems plaguing the society. Myriad range of issues highlighted by these aware kids include child marriage, child abuse and environmental protection as well.

The young journos popularly known as “Mukul Bal Patrakar”, are engaged in the publication of a quarterly published broadsheet newsletter, named as “Hamari Baat, Hamari Awaaz”, which has given the budding citizens a platform to express their concerns and also to eradicate the pre-existing social evils in their area.

The volunteers of the child brigade are more than just happy with their active participation with the mission. For Kajal, an enthusiastic member of the brigade, it was like a dream come true. “We never ever thought we will get such a powerful medium which has the potential to change the world we live in. I always have seen many evils of society and always wondered if I could do anything for the society but always felt helpless. But with this newsletter, we got a voice, ample enough to transform society and bring a revolution,” says the 12-year-old child crusader. Surprisingly, the innocent but socially responsible volunteers, mainly hail from the backward and marginalised sections of society. These determined ones leave no stone unturned to ensure that they utilise the platform to the maximum extent to highlight the plight of their not-so-lucky friends.

However, their views are not just restricted to the problems being faced by some communities. Issues of the whole district find space in their newsletter and frequent impact reports published speak volumes of the children’s efforts. Reports penned by these kids have changed lives of many including the kids involved with the initiative.

“These young scribes are a bunch of matured children. Ever since, they joined the newspaper, there has been a massive transformation in their personality. They are far more confident now and not scared to write anything that is for the benefit of the society. Many were initially shy but gradually their pen’s flow compensated for the lack of words,” adds Nipurnh.

The project which targeted four blocks in the district got massive support from the district administration and also from senior local journalists who helped them in bringing out the four pages of the quarterly on time. Tending to work like professionals, the little scribes do regular editorial meetings to discuss issues relating to the publication in which the local primary schools also come in support whole-heatedly besides the technical support provided by the state division of Unicef.

Also, there is a warm support from parents as they have noticed positive changes in their children. The initiative which had won all-round appreciation has focused on the most backward region and most vulnerable social groups to uplift their condition. The four-page attractive newsletter focu­ssed on places like-Jandaha, Rahapakar, Biddupur and Hajipur. Also, it was ensured that a large number of girls participate in majority. Accordingly, the ratio of girls and boys in the team is 53: 47, ensuring females are given fare chance to develop and make their presence felt. Interestingly, the project is expected to be taken up in other areas too in the days to come.

The broadsheet also has helped in educating the local community on several evils of society and made them ponder over many community related issues. Setting an example for the others the project now awaits some other revolution.