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Devising a development strategy is no child’s play. Institutionalising it on the ground is far more difficult. When such a strategy is brought about by children in the age group of 10 to 19 years, it’s worth sitting down and learning from.
Mahesail II and Aurangabad I gram panchayats (village councils) are two rare examples under Suti II, a community development block in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, where children are bringing the waves of change.
The stretch of lush green trees on the two sides of NH 34 throughout the 70 km drive to Mahesail II from Berhampore, the administrative headquarter of Murshidabad district, gives the feel of presence of the Bhagirathi flowing nearby. At Mahesail II, the breeze of Bhagirathi is enigmatic that will draw people to the smart, confident children, always ready to help, and above all greet with a smile.
“Aami Lili, o Lipi aar o Mili. Aamra Murali Pukur High School ae class six ae pori. Aasun bhetore (I’m Lili, she is Lipi and she is Mili. We study at Murali Pukur High School, class six. Please come in),” the three little girls give a hearty welcome to VillageSquare.in on a school premises at Bamuha village, where children of their age-group meet twice a month.
Found sitting in a delightfully decorated room with posters and pamphlets on child rights were around 30 more children of age-group 10 to 19, all eager to share their part of the story of development.
“Development is a wonderful word, but everything doesn’t happen as easily as it sounds,” said Ramiz Raza (16), a 12th standard student of Murali Pukur High School and a group leader of children in the age group of 15 to 19.
Bamuha village in Mahasail II having population of around 3,600 and around 300 households did not have a different story than any non-descript rural village at least six years back.
He explained that under VLCPC, every village constitutes children groups in the age of 10 to 19 and each group has a leader.
The group members select the leader and the major task of the leader is to hold group meetings, hear child-related problems and take up genuine issues with village seniors, that can also be the gram pradhan (village head).
“We had been maintaining committee register since 2010 and have solved so many child rights-related cases,” Vishnu Priya (16), a class 11 student, told VillageSquare.in.
Talking of how her own marriage, settled two years ago, was foiled through the children’s group, she said:
Foiling child marriage is not all. The group also stops other untoward practices.
While the group of seniors solves bigger problems, those of the juniors are great informers.
Shyamali Roy, Karabi Das, and Pobitri Das – villagers of Bamuha – are very proud of the children. These women feel that a wave of change was visible due to the children’s activeness.
Around 15 km away from Bamuha in Mahesail II is Baguipara village under Aurangabad I panchayat. Here the children are not only active but also helping panchayat officials in making a budget for children. Jaidev Das, gram pradhan of Aurangabad I, says, “My heart goes to these children who are emerging as crusaders of change and development.”
Unlike Bamuha that primarily had greater Hindu population, Baguipara is Muslim-dominated and challenges of the young girls for education and stopping their own early marriage is immense.
So, the villages in Aurangabad I has not only VLCPC but also Children Panchayat.
While Mahesail children have their own set of problems, the children, mainly girls in Aurangabad, face more of eve-teasing and child marriage.
Khatoon, a member of the children parliament, is a class 11 student who was awarded by several organisations for her courage.
Sukheda Khatoon pointed out that being a member of the children’s panchayat was helping them in a big way.
How do seniors see the children’s involvement?
“Their participation has actually made our functioning better,” said Mohammad Suqir, former gram pradhan of Aurangabad I.
In the financial year 2015-16, the panchayat had a budget of Rs 13.5 million.
Gani said an intelligent child was no more deprived of getting coaching or attaining higher education.
The claims of the children and women make sense. The recently released National Family Health Survey (NFHS) IV data says child marriage in West Bengal has gone down from 53 percent to 40 percent.
Even institutional delivery in the state has improved from 40 percent to 75 percent. Women’s empowerment and gender-based violence too have shown marked improvement with 90 percent of married women participating in household decisions, which was earlier 70 percent.
( Chhandosree is a journalist based in Ranchi. This article has been published in an arrangement with VillageSquare.in)
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