BUILDING FUTURE DECISION-MAKERS, TODAY
RobinAge|January 16, 2023
Children are the future of the nation. Many of today's children will grow up to be adults who will lead India in various spheres. It is therefore vital that children are well-informed and develop leadership and decision-making skills at a young age.
BUILDING FUTURE DECISION-MAKERS, TODAY

SOS Children's Villages India, a non-governmental organisation, empowers children through the formation of Bal Panchayats in villages. The idea of a Bal Panchayat is to enable children to participate in the decision-making process of governing institutions. SCARLETT RODRIGUES interviewed three children from Lakarpur village in Faridabad, Haryana, who are part of a Bal Panchayat to understand the issues they tackle and how being a part of the group has helped them. Here is what they had to say.

What is a Bal Panchayat?

A Bal Panchayat is a group of around 25 to 30 children from the age group of 11 to 18 years that addresses various social issues and acts as a voice for children. SOS educates us on different issues and we spread this knowledge in our communities, among other group members of the Bal Panchayat and the Bal Sabha-a group that comprises children from the age group of five to 10 years. We organise various activities like drawing competitions, nukkad nataks and games to bring children together.

Give us an example of a problem that your group has resolved.

Villagers often face problems that are water related. In one case, there was a tube well that provided water to the residents of a village. We found out that the water from a contaminated water body had mixed with the water from the tube well and people were consuming the same water. We immediately brought it to the notice of SOS, which helped us get in touch with the concerned authorities and the problem was resolved.

This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of RobinAge.

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This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of RobinAge.

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