By Archana Sharma Jaipur (Dec 13) : .At a moment when International Human Rights Day is being celebrated worldwide, a quiet story of change was being written in the Panchayat Samiti Building of Nimbaheda, Chittorgarh District of Rajasthan.
Around the large round table in the hall, which was mostly used by officials of government, were seated rural children who used projector screens and microphones to show the challenges facing their village.The discussion included Ghoonghat Pratha, child marriage and the dominance of casteism in rural areas.
The children came from remote rural villages and acted as citizen journalists.They spoke openly about gender discrimination, among other issues.
One child asked why a woman would kill another for the sake of her son.
Tanu Anjana, class X student, asked: “How can a girl pilot a plane while being held within the limits of the ghooghat? Is it possible for her to become an officer and run a government?
Meghna Kumawat, another student, spoke about New India.She asked why the evils associated with dowry and gender discrimination continue to plague the country.
A workshop organized by NGO Saksham Sanchar Foundation which trains rural children in the media stream, saw many students bring up burning issues in their communities.
This workshop was organized in partnership with Akshaypatra which serves two lakh Rajasthani students every day under the mid-day meals scheme.
Addressing these kids as the chief guests, the District collector said: “Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and hence plays a big role in nation building.I am glad to see these bubbling students coming out clear in their thoughts acting as citizen journalists to discuss the challenges and bringing out solutions for the same.”
He called the students to work for their all-round development as sole education is not enough for utmost success.
“I have seen many intelligent students who could not crack competitive exams as they were only focussing on studies.Also those who cracked these exams are unable to do well in their efforts as they are not all-rounders,” he said.
The district collector was all praises for the students who spoke on current challenges and said that such workshops should be expanded to other backward areas too so that the students there can benefit and emerge as citizen journalists.
Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Soni from Akshaypatra said: “We have seen many students get deprived of education due to hunger.We aim to ensure that no student gets dropped out due to hunger and hence are serving 22 lakh students with food under mid-day meal in India.In Rajasthan, we have 10 branches which serve food to two lakh students.”
The training was imparted by Murari Gupta from Doordarshan and vote of thanks was proposed by Professor Nimisha Gaur.
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