The children were aware that two teachers in their school had not been coming to class for a few days. After asking around, they decided to ask their principal to check the teachers’ leave applications. Seeing that there were none and no sign of the teachers returning, they took up the matter with the ‘sarpanch’ (head) of the village. When that didn’t work, they called a local journalist and brought the issue into the open.
These are the ‘baal gats’ - activist children’s groups that have sprung up in two of Maharashtra’s districts where the agrarian crisis has worsened the already crippling rural poverty. These young crusaders have zeroed in on issues like education, child labour, cleanliness, etc., and taken it upon themselves to transform their villages. Though they are only between seven and fourteen, the collective power they exude is unparalleled.
With the help of Save the Children and other local organizations, the children’s groups were formed in over 900 villages with the issue of child labour in mind. All the children of the village are encouraged to be part of the groups and join the monthly meetings to discuss what ails them and their village. The youngsters then devise ways of tackling issues linked to child labor and education, directly or indirectly.
In one of the villages, the children basked in their victory of getting Manda (12) admitted to school. When they went door to door to see if all the children were getting a formal education, they realized that Manda had been working in the fields. "She was a very quiet girl who never spoke to anyone. She hadn’t been going to school for two years because her father made her work in the field. It took us a long time to convince her and her father", says 12-year-old Vishakha. Convincing her younger brother, however, has been an unfruitful task. “Every time he sees us, he starts running away from us. He just doesn’t like going to school,’’ the children say.
Just the same, the children from these villages have succeeded in ‘waking up’ the adults in their communities to their own reality and have successfully promoted change as a result. Their near-perfect view of the world and their vitality empowers them to do so. Perhaps we, as adults, should stop and listen to children more often with an open attitude, and then do our best to integrate their outlook in decisions that matter.
Source: The Times of India
