Monthly Archives: May 2018

The role of parents in improving learning outcomes >> India Development Review

The role of parents in improving learning outcomes. Abhishek Choudhary on why it’s time to start making parents equal partners in the task of improving learning and academic outcomes for their children.

India’s forgotten child bride

“If we lose our house to floods tomorrow, we won’t have anything to give for our daughter’s wedding dowry.” In Shravasti, insecurity is one of the factors pushing many parents to marry their daughters off. These stunning photographs tell their story.

The Rise Of Youth Activists II

Hope is hard to come by, and even harder to believe in, when one’s existence is surrounded by violence, chaos, inequality and injustice. And yet, what lends ‘hope’ a quality that makes it almost magical that you find it when you need it the most, and least expect it. Children are more powerful, more sensitive, and more responsible than we give them credit for. Their simple minds and ways of being are more capable of possessing hope than adults. Here are five outstanding youth activists from over the world who’ve brought about hope, and change for their communities and the world, by deciding to take a stand, and by following it up through determined action. 

Bana Alabed, Syria

She is one of the hundreds of children from Syria who have lost their childhoods to the continuing civil war. In 2016, eight-year-old Bana took to Twitter to broadcast what it was like to be a child in Aleppo amidst the siege and the violence. Her family could eventually escape to Turkey, and Bana transcribed her experiences in Syria into a book titled, “Dear World: A Syrian Girl’s Story of War and Plea for Peace, which was released in October 2017. Her narrative is important, because it is the voice of not just all the Syrian children, but also for all the children all over the world who continue to be affected by wars, and who have lost their lives to wars. At eight, she is perhaps one of the youngest peace activists.
Read more here.

Nujood Ali, Yemen

When she was just nine years old, Nujood’s father got her married to man aged thirty, who was willing to pay for her a bride price of somewhere around rupees fifty thousand. While the man had promised her father he wouldn’t touch her until she attained puberty, he raped Nujood on the night of the marriage. The violence and abuse continued, until Nujood, a year later – ten at that time, decided that she had had enough. She went to a courthouse all on her own and found a lawyer who was willing to listen to her, and fight her case. A few weeks later, she won the case, becoming probably the ‘youngest divorcee in the world’ and an international symbol for courage and hope. Today, she is a leading figure in Yemen’s fight against forced marriage and child marriage.
Read more here.

Om Prakash Gujjar, India

To pay off the debt his father owed to his landlord, Om Prakash and his family members were obliged to serve as bonded laborers under him. He was five years old at the time. It was only three years later, when the activists from the Bachpan Bachao Andolan – a campaign against child labour, visited his village that he realized, he too had rights, and above all the right to education. After a long struggle, the activists managed to free him from being a bonded laborer and Om Prakash was sent to school. Since then, he has helped free many children in his village from child labour and has had them enrolled in school. He was awarded the Child Peace Prize in 2006.
Read more here.

Alejandra, Guatemala

Our network empowers girls so that they can ignite change in their communities”. This seventeen year old girl, is an advocate for “Let Girls Lead – Rise Up”, a campaign to address girls’ education, sexual violence and street harassment in Guatemala. The campaign uses radio as a medium to empower young leaders and local organizations. With a network of 25 other girl leaders, she also organizes workshops in schools to discuss about violence prevention.Soon they hope to organize community theatre to create awareness regarding they issues they are working towards.
Read more here.

Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, United States Of America

He gave his first speech against global warming when he was just six years old. In 2013, he served on President Obama’s Youth Council. He is also one of the 21 children to sue the federal government and Donald Trump for their lack of action regarding climate change. A firebrand climate change activist, Xiuhtezcatl is the youth director of Earth Guardians, and has given a speech on climate change at the United Nations General Assembly and the Rio +20 United Nations. “…our greed and ways of living are destroying our planet for the profit of this generation,” he says.
Read more here.

For Part 1 of Rise of Youth Activists, read here.

Reviving Grandma’s Tales: How Urban Kids Are Getting a Childhood Filled with Stories & Outdoor Games

“Kagakka Gubakka, which translates to Crow and Sparrow, is an initiative to bring back the childhood full of stories and outdoor games for the kids living in the metro city Bengaluru!” #childhoodmatters #everydaychildhood

Afghan rapper Sonita talks child marriage in humanitarian crises

“I understood why they would do this, but I couldn’t agree.” Inspiring activist Sonita was nearly married off at 16. She explains why conflict leads so many families to marry their daughters off, and what we can all do to end child marriage around the world. Girls Not Brides
#endviolencenotchildhood

Community Library For Children In Assam’s Majuli


A group of young people from Assam’s Guwahati came together to create a community library for children between the age of 5 and 15 in the Majuli district of the state. These people who include artists, filmmakers and social entrepreneurs, took this initiative under a collective called the Maati Community Movement.

The Maati Community Movement’s idea was to construct a community library in an eco-friendly approach. Materials such as bamboo and cane were used to build this library and most of the books have been crowd sourced with the help of social media platforms.

Majuli—the disappearing Island

For many years, the northeastern part of India has remained elusive for people outside the region but now it is being explored by people from other parts of the country and across the world in the name of ‘tourism’. Majuli in Assam is one such area, which has over the years seen an increased fascination from visitors far and wide. Known to be the largest river island in the world, it is inhabited by at least nine ethnicities, home to rare species of plants, and many endangered fauna. Its culture has been dominated by the Neo-Vaishnavite Satras or monasteries, started by the saint-preacher-reformer-artist-composer Sankardeva (1499-1568) in the 15th century with the idea of spreading Vaishnavite faith. In 2016, it was declared as India’s first river island district by the BJP-led government in Assam.

The Brahmaputra which is known to be one of the most controlling rivers in the world, and is infamous for changing its course without notice has played a decisive role in Assam’s destiny. Majuli has been one of the worst victims of the erosion caused by the Brahmaputra—the total area of its land being reduced from 1,256 sq km to 515 sq km—makes it a disappearing island.

Community Library Initiative

Every year, during the floods, a child’s education is hampered; schools close down as crossing the saaporis (alluvial sand banks created by the river over the years) on boats that aren’t strong enough to combat the fast currents of the river become an issue. These saaporis are usually taken up by farmers who lose their lands due to erosion.

In the year 2016, when Rishi Raj Sarmah, a Guwahati-based social entrepreneur visited the island, he hadn’t even thought he would one day become instrumental in setting up a community library in one of the areas of Majuli. He along with artist Neelim Mahanta, and a few like-minded people came up with the idea of constructing this library in Chitadhar Chuk village, which is inhabited mostly by the Mishing tribe with about 120 households. Sarmah’s social enterprise Maati Centre in Guwahati is home to local arts and crafts from the Northeast region, which he had started along with his wife Pabitra Lama Sarmah in February 2017, the place has since then also become a meeting point for talented people from various fields of art and culture.

Sarmah says, “I had first visited the island two years back to meet local artisans, but in November 2017 at the annual Raas festival, we thought of doing something for the Mishing community, we planned for a library for the children in November, rolled out the campaign in February, and in March we launched. We came in contact with Haren Narah, a local man from the village who has a sprawling resort named ‘Me: Po Okum’ (Happy Home) which he runs along with Momi Payeng Narah, his wife. We decided to build this library in his spacious resort as it was at the centre of the village and was convenient for everyone.”

Besides, young filmmaker Akash Das made a short film on the campaign, artist Neelim Mahanta has done artwork on the walls of the library, a story telling session for the children undertaken by Yuveka Singh, founder of Darwesh, a storytelling organization “residing in the areas of culture, education and training”, and an open air film screening was also organized on March 25, the day when the library formally opened.

For the children, it was a chance to escape their regular day-to-day activities at school—from being able to lay their hands on new books that they had never seen before to listening to Yuveka tell them stories in a unique way—the library has been able to offer them a space to learn and have fun while also kindling their creative expression, and freedom to express themselves. Some children were even instrumental in raising awareness among the people of the village and their friends for setting up the library.

Sarmah says, “This was entirely a collective effort by the young people from Guwahati, and the people and children of the village.

#InternationalDayOfFamilies- Family Strengthening Posters From Across The World

Families all over the world have transformed immensely over the past decades – we’ve seen the emergence of joint families, nuclear families, single parents, same-sex parents, unwed mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings as caretakers, adopted families and foster families, impacting global trends and changing demographics. Still, a family continues to be recognised as a basic unit of a community.

The UN General Assembly in 1993 proclaimed the 15th of May to be marked as the International Day of Families. This move was to recognize the role of families as the “core” of any society, and the importance of healthy and happy families for better childhoods, and better societies. Ever since this day has been celebrated with a different theme each year. This year, the theme is “Families and Inclusive Societies,” which relates to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.

In the current day context, this theme is extremely relevant given the global atmosphere of intolerance, and the tearing apart of families due to wars, persecutions and conflicts world over. For example, the UK Refugee law does not recognize brothers, sisters, or grandparents as family, for those seeking asylum in the country. If there was ever a real need for societies to be more inclusive, it is right now.

On International Day of Families, we bring to you interesting family strengthening campaign posters from around the world.

Every Child Needs a Family
Poster by UNICEF - A child holding hands of 2 mannequins

Beti Bachao

Girl or Boy, two is enough

Have the number of children you can feed, clothe and educate

We need you here

Family matters

A call to families to take centre stage

The girl with the strawberry ring

“In Alaa’s home country of Yemen, many families are going hungry. War, food shortages and disease have created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.” Alaa is not alone, and children like her have to bear the brunt of the crisis. According to the UN, Yemen is one of the worst places to be a child. #endviolencenotchildhood

No darkness can trap you

“It was my father who said – No darkness can trap you.” Inspired by Mai Tatoy’s true story from the Philippines, My Father illustrations illustrates how this young girl discovered the meaning of love #myfather 

Song for the New Year: ‘Teach Your Children’ holds the key to building a better tomorrow

Many countries in the western hemisphere have greying populations, but in #India, it’s the #young who outnumber the old by a large margin. The world is in a dire place today: between the crises created by the established economic models followed by capitalist nations, the lurch to the illiberal and intolerant Right, the toll being taken by environmental adventurism, and the continued struggle for #humanrights, it does not appear the generation in charge of running the world – that’s us – has done a stellar job.

That leaves the coming generations to make the world a better place. We live on that hope. And perhaps all that we can do is to teach our #children well. And to tell them on the first day of this new year: “And you, of tender years, can’t know the fears that your elders grew by, And so please help them with your youth, they seek the truth before they can die. #happynewyear

To raise brave girls, encourage adventure

Gutsy girls skateboard, climb trees, clamber around, fall down, scrape their knees, get right back up — and grow up to be brave women. Caroline Paul talks of how to spark a little productive risk-taking and raise confident girls. 

Child Miners: The dark secrets of Jharkhand’s mining industry

The dark secret of Jharkhand’s mining industry – Everyday, thousands of #children play hide and seek with death in mines where lethal cave-ins are frequent.

Students’ secret notes help police catch traffickers

A letter box in one Indian school is helping spot #childmarriage and human trafficking, Here’s how..

What’s in a name? The agonies of Aadhar

J. Indu, a 10-year-old Dalit girl, and four other students in the fifth standard of the government primary school at Amadagur, won’t get their scholarships this year. Simply because their names are wrongly spelt on their #Aadhaar cards.

12-yr-old accused of attacking school kid sent to juvenile home, father cries foul

How troubled would a child be to inflict this kind of #violence? We’re afraid that calls for harsher punishments, death penalty creates frenzy, distracting from the real issues which need to be looked at and work that needs to get done.. As members of society we must respond responsibly. #endviolencenotchildhood

Watch: This young boy from Pakistan decided to sing his leave application to the headmaster

This young boy from Pakistan decided to sing his leave application to the headmaster. He even sang every punctuation mark. #littlehumans

Shocked by death of 13-year-old-friend, this Rajasthan woman launched crusade against child marriage

“My father said he was ashamed of me… I was the only girl in the village still unmarried.” In Rajasthan, one inspiring woman avoided #childmarriage and campaigned to prevent more than 50 in her community. via Girls Not Brides

Comparison Adds Pressure| #Releasethepressure

With the boards around the corner, every home has transformed into a pressure zone. Nerves are frayed, tension is rising and families are at odds over studying patterns. A mirror for society, looking to bring attention to students’ distress, #releasethepressure features real teenagers and focuses on the issues of parental pressure, and what happens when parents constantly compare their children to peers, neighbours and siblings.

Help for kids the education system ignores

Define #students by what they contribute, not what they lack — especially those with difficult upbringings, says educator Victor Rios. Interweaved with his personal tale of perseverance as a #youth, Rios identifies three straightforward strategies to shift attitudes in #education and calls for fellow educators to see “at-risk” students as “at-promise” individuals brimming with resilience, character and grit. 

Rising Juvenile Crimes: A New Age of Offence

A four year old has sexually assaulted another four year old. The television anchor calls it inconceivable. She says 4 year olds are not supposed to know these things. What could be a clearer indicator of exposure to violence than a 4-year-old exhibiting sexually abusive behaviour. Is it so hard to understand that children reflect what society inflicts on them? How miserably disappointing to see the pattern of news/TV show continues over and over. The best of anchors– Emphatically call out stories of children who have been accused of serious offences, make the problem out to be the biggest emergency, pit victims/their families against those who stand longer term and deeper solutions. None of this will not get us anywhere near creating a safer and more responsible society for children. They must know this too, shouldn’t they? #noprisonforchildren

In Srinagar, a 16-year-old girl gives voice to players who can’t speak, hear

In Srinagar, a 16-year-old girl gives voice to players who can’t speak, hear. #playmatters #girlpower

In Odisha, schools are the dropouts

Hundreds of government schools, especially in tribal-dominated districts, have been shut down over the past year. Elizabeth Kuruvilla reports on the closures, the mushrooming of private schools, and the battles waged by tribal villages to keep state-funded local schools open. #rightoeducation #education

Every fourth child has stunted growth in India’s 10 most-populous cities

Every fourth child in the 10 most-populous Indian cities has stunted growth and development due to malnutrition says a recent report.

Never stop trying!

If #education needs to shift from knowing to learning – we need to change the what, when and how of our exam system.

Reducing exams fever

If #education needs to shift from knowing to learning – we need to change the what, when and how of our exam system.

Technology and children

Technology giants like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t let his kids use the iPad, and strictly limited how much technology his kids used at home. But how do all parents, teachers and policymakers get empowered to harness the power of media and technology as a positive force in the lives of children?

The silent sufferers: On Maharashtra’s farmer suicides

The #children of the farmers who committed suicide do not receive the support or counselling they need to recover from the resulting mental trauma.Jyoti Shelar visits the villages in Maharashtra worst affected by farmer suicide and reports on these minors’ struggle to get their lives back on track.

A Home-Run School in Gurugram Is Nurturing Basti Children in a Special Way!

A Home-Run School in Gurugram Is nurturing basti #children in a unique way. Here’s how..

Bridging the gap between design and implementation

The #education solutions that could transform pre-schooling already exist, but are currently limited to the upper end of the market. via India Development Review

1800 students aged 7-10 in corporation schools ‘addicted’

Over 1000 students in the age group of 7-10 years in the primary schools run by the municipal corporation in Delhi have been identified to be consuming addictive substances like inhalers, solutions, spirit, tobacco and gutka. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Read about why curbing and preventing #substanceabuse amongst youngsters is becoming an increasingly challenging task

The dribbling dreams of lower income girls in uttar pradesh

“On this court, over 300 children from underprivileged backgrounds are taught essential life skills through sport. They learn the significance of teamwork, diligence, focus, ambition, and friendship. Perhaps most importantly, they find a way to escape the stifling and toxic home environment that is prevalent throughout India’s poorest districts.”

Read more about how these girls from Uttar Pradesh are moving towards a ‘self-sustainable’ future by training in basketball at the #dribbleacademy. #playmatters

Skymet weather’s initiative: #helpthefarmer

In solidarity with the thousands of farmers who are in Mumbai… hopeful that they will get a hearing and their needs will be fulfilled by the government. This telling film will give you a glimpse into the very real stress the farmer crisis brings to their families, especially to their children. #KisanMarch #FarmersMarchToMumbai #KisanLongMarch

Ineffective and arbitrary

#Deathpenalty as justice to the child survivor is a disingenuous argument because it seeks to cover-up the real reasons that prevent justice to survivors. Read why the demand for death penalty for those who rape children is thick on rhetoric and thin on empirical evidence.

How a skateboard made 6-year-old Kamali Moorthy from Mahabalipuram, a star

“…sports like surfing (and skateboarding) are shaking up the status quo, and providing youngsters a positive outlet to channel their energies. They’re also giving little girls like Kamali a chance to shine in front of the world.” Read more about Kamali Moorthy, and how she is growing up to become a symbol of #empowerment for youngsters and little girls.

Syrian kids explain the war

On its 7th anniversary, we revisit a powerful piece of the civil war in #Syria told through the eyes of #children. #childrenofsyria #nocountryforchildren #childrenuprooted

‘Who am I to tell you how to bring up your child?

“What would it be like if more people knew about what actually takes place in a psychotherapy consulting room? How would that change things in families? How would that affect how parents and children talk to each other?”

‘An interview with the author of ‘Love & Rage: The Inner Worlds of Children’, the book that puts the child, and not the parents, at the centre.’

The boys are not alright

“Too many boys are trapped in the same suffocating, outdated model on masculinity…they are trapped and don’t even have the language to talk about how they feel, because the language that exists to discuss the full range of human emotion is still viewed as sensitive and feminine.”

For the longest while we have been raising little boys telling them, “boys don’t cry.” But they do, and that’s okay. The existing gender/parenting discourse needs to focus on raising boys to be sensitive, and not just on raising strong girls.

Many boys are broken under the burden of prescribing to the notions of “manhood”, and they need our help. Michael Ian Black’s powerful piece on this.

Will these four technology trends change education in India?

“From virtual reality to big data, the tech frenzy has hit #education too, but will it go beyond gimmicrky?” Shweta Sharan shares her insights.

#elearning #edtech

Let’s talk about teenage violence: safety is not another word for care, writes a school principle

School Principal Annie Koshi delves into the issue of teenage violence and explains why ‘safety’ and ‘care’ are not synonymous. She highlights that a good teacher is one who is trained to observe and listen closely to what is being presented through a child’s behaviour. “If we were to truly care, we would sit up and question what is actually happening here. We would then see that we are facing challenges in attention seeking behaviours that are rooted in causing harm either to oneself or the other. It is important to understand that aggression and anger are also signs of complete helplessness.” #LetsTalkAboutTeenageViolence 

Has Google made teaching a nightmare job in India? A veteran teacher sets the record straight

Just Google It! – might as well be some sort of a motto for the younger India. From entertainment, to delivering assignments, Google seems to have all the answers one could ever wish for, and maybe, too many answers. How has the advent of the internet vis-à-vis Google affected the dynamics in the classroom? A telling article by a veteran teacher.#schoolingmatters #edreform

Breaking the silence

Young girls in many parts of India are still growing up with limited knowledge about managing their menstrual cycle, largely the result of a lack of education and awareness about personal hygiene as well as resources. Here’s hoping #YesIBleed, the national campaign on menstrual hygiene, will be a critical entry point for the country to talk about India’s “period poverty” #menstrualawareness #menstruationmatters

Messages from the classroom

Vimala Ramachandran’s book Inside India’s Classrooms: The Enigma of Equity and Quality, is a “detailed, reflective and granular narrative” of the author’s travels to the schools in which some of the poorest and most marginalised children study. She takes us into the Indian classroom to unpack fundamental assumptions about #equity, quality and #education, and illustrates what needs to be done to make schools one of the first settings to reduce #discrimination. #educationforall

Araku Valley’s dark secret

“I am now learning tailoring to support my family. I have also joined the NGO that rescued me. I hope to be a part of their team. I have decided to tour the tribal hamlets to educate young girls, and tell them not to get tricked by strangers who promise them jobs in cities.”

Rajini was 15 years old when she was trafficked and tricked into prostitution. Today she is 27, but rehabilitation for her and many other women and girls who have suffered the same fate is a distant dream. The trafficking of Adivasi women and girls from the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats has devastated many tribal villages in the area. A detailed account of the modus operandi of the criminal enterprise, and voices of girls turned women who survived. #endviolencenotchildhood 

“I Would Like to Go to School” Barriers to Education for Children with Disabilities in Lebanon

“We are always scared of tomorrow because the school could say we need to remove him.” —Huda, the mother of Wael, a 10-year-old boy with autism in Beirut, Lebanon. 

The recent report by HRW documents the barriers children with disabilities face across Lebanon in getting an education, akin to the state of affairs in India. One of the findings of the report states that “schools routinely bar children with disabilities from admission, in violation of Lebanese and international law. And for those who manage to enroll, most schools do not take reasonable steps to provide them with a quality education alongside their peers.” As a result, many children stay at home and receive no education at all. #educatiomatters #disabilitymatters #educationforall

The Looming Perils Of Child Marriage In India

Solemnisation of #childmarriage has been prohibited under the Child Marriage Act of 2006. “But are we really abiding by the law yet? Out of every 28 child marriages that occur per minute in the world, more than two take place in India. According to data, everyday 3,603 new cases of child marriage were still being added to the existing number.” Geeta Lama of SavetheChildren India writes about “The Looming Perils of Child Marriage.” #savethechildren #stopchildmarriage #girlsnotbrides

India’s failing education system: It is our children’s future, not our ancestor’s pride, that deserves our outrage first

“We have known for years that our education system is failing. Children are going to school but not learning much beyond “floor level tasks.” Yet, there has been no big bang policy shift, very little sustained media scrutiny and indeed no parent uprising. Why does the bleak future of our young people not stoke our collective outrage?” #educationmatters #edreform

Studying without a school- the reality of education in rural India

The Right to #Education Act in India deems education the fundamental right of every child and lists mandatory facilities for learning centres. But in a village in Madhya Pradesh, local government continues to infringe on the right to education, by failing to complete the basic structure of its only primary school. Here’s how #children are studying without a #school. #righttoeducation #educationmatters 

How parents’ arguments really affect their children

It is normal for parents to argue, but the way these disagreements affect children varies greatly. What can parents and care givers do to limit the harm caused by their rows? #parenting

My life as a bookworm: what children can teach us about how to read

“Adults tend to forget what a vital part of the process re-reading is for children. As adults, re-reading seems like backtracking at best, self-indulgence at worst. Free time is such a scarce resource that we feel we should use it on new things.”

Stop making new laws for children’s safety. Instead implement what we have first.

“In the name of concern for children, we are witnessing shrill demands and knee-jerk reactions and action. If the action is short-sighted and flawed, the children will have to bear the consequences long after the momentary public interest is satisfied.

Unfortunately, when a Nobel Laureate asks for something, there’s more chances he gets the state moving. Only one can wish he will stop asking for more laws or bodies, and ask for political will and better implementation.” – Enakshi Ganguly

Learning new lessons to revive secondary education

The bridge to nowhere. How secondary education in India is broken, and what can be done.

On single parenting and how two is not always better than one

On single parenting and how two is not always better than one. #wetheparents Mommygolightly

Arre Baba

Little Devika has a problem her father may not understand. Does she miss having a mother? #wetheparents

Parents say the darnedest things

Peek into any parents’ school WhatsApp group and you are likely to see a cabal of very agitated adults. Read ‘Parents say the darnedest things’ by Natasha Badhwar. #wetheparents

How to Pressure Cook a Child

Jane De Suza, the author of Happily Never After hilariously shares quacks and hacks on how to pressure cook a child. #wetheparents

‘Who am I to tell you how to bring up your child?’ Nupur D Paiva has not written a book on parenting

 

Love & Rage: The Inner Worlds of Children is that rare book on the lives of parents and children that works hard to not tell you what to do. What it does do is nosedive into a pool of perplexing questions all of us have asked ourselves at some point – and it does this with remarkable flair, turning into an absorbing, reassuring companion without once slipping into instruction manual mode. That is because it is not a parenting book, insists author and psychotherapist Nupur D Paiva Love & Rage #wetheparents

I was sexually abused as a child. I don’t want a death penalty, I prefer healing for him

#EndChildSexualAbuse but even those who have been victims believe that death penalty is not the answer! But really no one asked her… definitely not Swati Jai Hind who fasted nor Maneka Gandhi who pushed it via HAQ: Centre for Child Rights

UP school van tragedy reflects how India’s children go to class – and parents must share the blame

The UP school van tragedy reflects how India’s children go to class – and parents must share the blame. #keepingchildrensafe#roadtragedies #roadsafety

Anandita Palsule & Chinmayee Bagade

Mohit Pandey

Abhilash Safai