Monthly Archives: August 2015

With Jagwati Devi: Translating child protection dialogue to action

Photo: Richa Nagaich, With Jagwati Devi: Translating Child Protection Dialogue to Action| Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Richa Nagaich

“Hum yahan se shuruat karne ke liye tayar hain”, said gritty 72 year old Jagwati Devi sounding hopeful about the recently formed Village Child Protection Committee in Pariharpur Village, Madhubani. We are lucky to catch her in the middle of a very tight schedule. Jagwati Devi is the Sarpanch of Pariharpur Panchayat and the President of 399 Sarpanchs in Madhubani, not an easy position to be at, in a politically charged environment.

Our work which began in Madhubani, in 2014, entails deep dialogues with communities on the care and protection of children. Substance abuse- mainly alcohol and tobacco among adults, and its influence on young children who start consumption of these harmful substances even before the onset of adolescence was found to be a big problem in communities. Conversations also shed light on how drunk men found around alcohol shops were restricting the mobility of women and young girls in the village.

Hearing such conversations taking place in her village, Jagwati Devi decided she had to do something about it. She brought the women of her village together, to stand up to the alcoholic men and the local illegal liquor mafia. “I took the women along with me, we attacked and took control of one of the illegal shops in the
village”, she told us rather matter-of-factly.

Jagwati Devi’s did not stop there. Seeking a long term solution, she escalated the matter to the block administration, and has ensured that no new liquor outlet, whether licensed or not, is set up in her village. Pariharpur village does not have a liquor shop anymore. “It’s not like the men have stopped drinking alcohol completely. They have now to walk much further to get it. It has also made the area safer for girls and women”,
she said.

Jagwati Devi is hopeful of working for the betterment of her village – one battle at a time. A much sought after person, she bids us a hurried good-bye promising to spend more time with us, the next time we visit.

In photos: A rough road to the classroom

For many children and their parents, crossing the street to catch the school bus is perhaps the riskiest part of the school run. Yet, for many others school is something that is hard earned and not easily accessed. Today, going to school has become increasingly important for children across India – girl and boy, rich and poor, abled and disabled, and they are willing to muster the courage and strength to get there no matter what. The right to education never came with the promise that a child’s journey to school would be safe. A blind spot, perhaps? Yet, a journey to school determines many things.. will a child miss school today, drop out or never see the inside of his classroom? Here’s a look at images that reflect the lengths children would go to to get to school, the value they place on receiving an education and the daily fight they take on to fulfil their most basic right. In overcrowded vehicles, on horse backs, through hilly terrain, across rivers and lakes, over nearly collapsed bridges, amid armed conflict and in some instances even balancing on tight ropes, children around India face serious obstacles in making their daily journey to school.

When your school in tucked away in the Zanskar mountain range, Himalayas, children have no choice but to hike to school.

In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Unknown

Uncomfortably jammed in an autorickshaw, children in Ahmedabad make their way to school.

Photo: Amit Dave/ Reuters

Children use a bridge, made of the roots of a giant tree, to get to school in the remote parts of India.

Photo: Unknown, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Unknown

 

Against the river currents, determined girls in Gujarat wade through water, carry their books, papers and a change of clothes to fulfil their education.

 

Photo: Associated Press, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Associated Press

 

When your village goes under water every year, going to school becomes a daily hazard in flood-hit villages of Assam.

 

Photo: European Pressphoto, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: European Pressphoto

 

Students use a wooden boat, the only means of transport available in Thanga, Manipur, to cross Loktak lake to get to school.

 

Photo: Indian Express
Photo: Indian Express

 

A boy on a wheelchair is pushed by his brothers for miles before they reach school.

 

Photo: Distrib Films US

 

Children of Bendse village, Maharashtra, walk on a tightrope to reach school everyday.

 

Photo: Indian Express, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Indian Express

 

Ever done the balancing act to get to school? That’s what children in Kashmir need to do when the footbridge gets damaged due to rains.

Photo: Danish Ismail/ Reuters

School children go through the Makrana forest in a Maoist region of Chhattisgarh, a day after brutal killing.

 

Photo: The Hindu, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: The Hindu

 

Horse carting (and hanging) to school in Delhi.

 

Clinging on to brass pots as they swim across a river in Gujarat to school every morning.

 

Photo: Bhupendra Rana/ Indian Express, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Bhupendra Rana/ Indian Express

 

Balancing on a bridge in Delhi due to traffic filled roads to make it to school on time.

 

Photo: Kevin Frayer/ Associated Press, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Kevin Frayer/ Associated Press

 

Students of a Govt school in the tribal belt of Gujarat walk through forests, two hillocks, and cross three water canals to get to school.

 

Photo: Indian Express, In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Indian Express

 

When all else fails, some ‘make’ provisions to get to school.

 

Photo: Zookeepersblog , In Photos: A Rough Road To The Classroom | Leher NGO in India | Child Rights Organization
Photo: Zookeepersblog