Little Fingers to report for their newsletter 'Jagmag'

Shivram Bhagel, Jitendar Jatav, Bhuriya are young kids studying in class seventh and eighth in middle schools of the Guna district of India. They are part of the excited 30 young kids who were participating in children training for giving their opinion a voice and helping to them to become 'child reporters'.

The training was held in their district on the 20th and the 21st of October 2010. All children part of this training are from class seventh and eighth of Government run middle schools in the villages of Tarawata, Imjhara and Dungsahara of Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. Guna is the district located in the State of Madhya Pradesh, in the central region of India. This children group is called 'Jagmag Sena', children group which promotes sanitation and hygiene among their peers. Groups like this are present in 25 schools of the Guna district. After this training they are planning to come out with their own monthly newspaper which will not only talk about issues of sanitation and hygiene but also cover various aspects which they feel and impact their rights.

In the two days training programme held they were trained in writing and reporting skills. They were made aware of intricacies of media, how newspaper is published, what is reporting and how they can write about issues which they feel are important to them. They also interacted with local media professionals for them to help them understand the importance of news. This training programme was organized by the UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh in partnership with Vibhavari and nongovernmental organizations and the district education department. This is a part of UNICEF initiative to promote child participation and give voice to children views and opinion.

Rajkumar from village Tarwata, who was one of the participating kids, wants to write about the problem of his village and he feels that the newspaper will help him to express his concern for his village. Rajni Ohja another student of class eight of the middle school from Tarawata Village questions why people spit on the road? Deepak Kopri of class 7th of middle school in Imjara writes about why some people in his village use a toilet while some do not.

These stories as being penned by children that are reflecting the local real issues which they face and many a times do not get covered in newspapers. Now they will have their own say, in their newspaper, which they have titled 'Jagmag'. Sunil Chaturvedi who works with Vibhavari the NGO which is partner in this initiative says that the 'children are excited and this training will not only help them in writing but will contribute in their overall development and give them exposure to much wider perspectives, which will boost their self confidence'.

HIVs pad up to fight stigma on World Aids Day

Bhopal, Dec 1 (IANS) A friendly 20-20 cricket match was played here Wednesday. However, what was unusual about the match was that 10 of the 30 players were HIV positive. The two teams were called Minister's XI and Project Director's XI. Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Health Mahendra Hardia captained the former while project director of Madhya Pradesh State Aids Control Society, Manohar Agnani, captained the other. 'No doubt forums and seminars on Dec 1 are informative and spread awareness. But a cricket match was a brilliant idea,' Hardia said.
'It sends an instant message to society that HIV positive people can play a game of cricket with as much energy and enthusiasm as any other person,' he added. UNICEF's Programme Manager Manish Mathur said it was not about winning or losing the match, the important thing was that we together win to spread awareness on the issue and help fight stigma and discrimination associated with it. Though the match ended in a tie but the spirit of fighting the stigma lingered on long after the game.

The match was organised by the Network of People Living With HIV AIDS Society, an association of activists working for HIV positive patients throughout the state.

Click Click - Girls to tell their own stories

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Sep 16 (IANS) Schoolgirls Pooja Bhadoria and Kanchan Mishra are already feeling empowered. In a world where social prejudices are steeped against girls, they are hoping to wield the camera and tell their stories. The two are from Bhind and Morena, which figure among the 14 districts with some of the lowest child sex ratios in India - less than 850 girls per 1,000 boys, indicating a distinct bias against girls.

But now they are among 30 girls from Gwalior, Bhind and Morena who are being trained in the art of photography by UNICEF and the department of women and child development of the Madhya Pradesh government. 'I had not touched a camera before. It is exciting. Now I can show what I feel,' Priya, a Class 10 student of Rabindranath Tagore School from Bhind district, said after attending her first session of a three-day workshop that began here Wednesday.  'There are so many problems we face but we can hardly share that with anyone. Perhaps photography will help.'  Two senior photographers, Prabhas Roy and Jagdish Yadav from Delhi, are training the girls to master the art of photography.

Monica Srivastava, a Class 10 student of Mahatma Lochandas School in Morena, is confident she would be able to highlight the problems of gender bias through photographs.  'The world may not believe if I tell them but how can anyone deny the facts shown in a photograph?' Both Bhind and Morena are around 500 km from state capital Bhopal. Girls in these districts have to fight poverty, lack of education as well as gender bias. The voices of girls have been muffled as they hardly have a forum to vent their feelings and social barriers don't permit them to engage in any activity outside other than going to school - if they are fortunate enough. But now 'clicks' of camera are going to break this barrier of silence.

There are plans to hold a public exhibition of photographs clicked by the girls over the next few days. These photographs will be displayed in the schools where the girls study. 'Such initiatives will go a long way in empowering these girls,' Ashok Shivhare, additional commissioner, Gwalior, told IANS after inaugurating the workshop. Anil Gulati, communication specialist, Unicef Office for Madhya Pradesh, said: 'This workshop is part of an effort to provide an opportunity to children to express their opinions using the power of photography.' 'This is part of the initiative to provide more space and forums to child participation and how they can be engaged to document what they know, see or hear on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the ground realities,' he added  Suresh Tomar, joint director, department of women and child development, said: 'We are hoping the children would be able to use the art of photography to help realise the MDGs.'

40,000 people visit Red Ribbon Express in MP

Bhopal, Aug 20 (IBNS) ’Red Ribbon Express’, an exhibition on train which aims to spread awareness about HIV/ AIDS in the country, is now in Madhya Pradesh.

About 40,000 people already visited the train in the 7 stations it has travelled. It entered Madhya Pradesh via Harda district on August 5, where about 6000 people including young people visited the train and interacted with the volunteers on the train. It entered Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh and will leave for Uttar Pradesh from here. The train will be covering 11 stations in the State of Madhya Pradesh. It will be reaching Katni district on Aug 21, and following which the train will travel to Shahdol, Jabalpur and Satna.

Till date it has been to Harda, Bhopal, Sujalpur, Ujjain, Ratlam, Mandsore, Shivpuri. The eight coach train is attracting attention of young ones particularly in smaller stations and has variety of multimedia and interactive displays, which aim to provide information and answers to many queries on the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Madhya Pradesh State Aids Control Society, volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra, National Service Scheme and UNICEF are supporting mobilisation of people and are providing counsellors at the stations to help discussion on the issue like HIV/AIDS.  Local civil society partners are supporting at the district level to help make it a popular affair. Network of positive people in Madhya Pradesh are supporting the train and a team is travelling with the train to educate the people about their issues and interacting with people to help reduce stigma.

Kids meet at Bhopal

Bhopal, Aug 16 : At least 60 children from Bhopal, Vidisha, and Sehore districts of Madhya Pradesh participated in 'Anganwadi Bal Samagam', (children's meet) held at Jawahar Bal Bhawan, here on Monday. About 30 mothers also participated in the same. It was organised for children to listen to them, let them participate, play and also listen to mothers on their views about anganwadi's centres. This 'children's meet' was organised by Department of Women and Child Development in partnership with UNICEF.

Loveleen Kacker, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Tania Goldner, Chief UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh and Anupam Rajan, Director Women and Child Development interacted with children and mothers. They sought their opinion about what is working in anganwadi . Kacker, while interacting with children and mothers, said: "I am here to listen to them including things which are not working." Mothers shared about the benefits they were getting at anganwadi and also shared the problems they were facing. Snehlata Vishwakarma, Anganwadi worker from Vidisha, in her interaction with Tania Goldner of UNICEF, shared she enjoys being with children, listening to them, learning from them and she believes that it is not only about giving children food at anganwadi centre but making them citizens of tomorrow.

A special play by children from Bal Bhawan was presented which highlighted the issue of malnutrition and role of anganwadi's in combating the same and what can parents do to claim their entitlements. In second session children were taught drawing, painting and clay making. They enjoyed with clay and painted their thoughts on paper. Little fingers used paint to portray their thoughts and painted creatures they imagined. Children sang and danced to showcase their talent. R S Raghuvanshi, Director, Bal Bhawan, and Praveen Gangrade, Joint Director Bhopal, Kavita Sharma UNICEF Nutrition Specialist were also present at the meet.

12-yr-old helps sibling recover from malnutrition

By Anil Gulati, Shivpuri, May 18 : Premwati, a 12 year old girl, feels elated and smiles when asked about her sister whom she carried in her lap. She had helped her younger sibling Anushka recover from severe malnutrition. Premwati lives in Bamera Panchayat of Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh.

Her sister Anushka was a year old when she was unwell and was suffering with severe acute malnutrition. NGO ASHA worker Ramswarupi Lodhi, during her rounds in May 2009 to their house, found the kid to be underweight and was in stage of severe acute malnutrition.

ASHA worker advised her parents that the child should be referred to the nearest Nutritional Rehabilitation centre for treatment and care. She briefed her parents, who are agricultural labourers, and urged them to take the little one for treatment.

Though her parents wanted to treat her, but they were worried about their other 5 children.

They were dependent on their daily earnings for bread. They could not afford to stay with the child at NRC for 14 days leaving their work.

It was then her sister Premwati took it upon herself and expressed her eagerness to stay with the little one at NRC and look after her.

Though she had to take time out of her school, a place where she loves to go, but in her own words, it was worth for her little sister. She stayed with her younger sibling was at NRC in Shivpuri district for 14 days.

Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre is centre for treatment and care of severe acute malnourished children. Madhya Pradesh has 202 such centres including this one at Shivpuri.

They are being run under National Rural Health Mission with support from State Government. Staff at NRC and ASHA worker fondly remembers how punctual Prenwati was with her sister meals, medicine.

She was loved by all NRC staff during her stay. After her stay at NRC, district team did follow the child at her home. Whenever team used to come to follow up, Premwati used to make sure that they see her sister.

Premwati studies in school now and not only vows to study further but wants to make sure that her sister too goes to schoolwhen she grows up.

Recently UNICEF team from UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh visited her at her village; she smiled with her sister in her lap while people of her village proudly talked about her to the visiting team.

One breaks free, but child marriages go on in Madhya Pradesh

By Sanjay Sharma, Bhopal, May 14 (IANS) : All hell broke loose at Vanita's house when she refused to tie the knot before completing her studies. She was not even 18, the legal age for women to get married in India, pointed out the spunky Dalit girl.

It took people by surprise in Madhya Pradesh where every second girl is married off before she reaches marriageable age. Many of these weddings take place on the festival of Akshya Tritiya, which falls on Sunday.

Vanita, 17, who lives in a settlement for the poor in Bhopal, last week threatened to go to police when, after returning from school one day, she was told by her younger sister that she was about to be married off to a middle-aged man from Rajasthan.

Though her parents seem to have relented for now, she is not sure about the future stance of her drunkard father.

"I am still afraid that anyone can brainwash my father and he would insist on my marriage once again," says Vanita who has sought the support of the NGO Sarokar which works with girls on issues like child marriage and gender bias.

Vanita, who wants to be a policewoman after completing her studies, has also equipped herself with knowledge as to how to approach the police if any further pressure comes.

As many as 53 percent girls are believed to get married under the age of 18 years in the state while the national average is 47.4 percent, says a report of the National Family Health Survey.

The figure for Bihar is 69 percent, Rajasthan 65.2 percent, Jharkhand 62.3 percent and Uttar Pradesh 58.6 percent, the survey says.  In Madhya Pradesh districts like Barwani, Sehore, Neemach, Chhatarpur, Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Sheopur and Shivpuri, more than 40 percent of girls are married before attaining the legal age, according to the findings of a district-level household survey carried out by the International Institute of Population Studies on behalf of the central government.

Though the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, bars the marriage of a girl aged below 18 years and a man below 21, the problem persists, with a majority of child marriages being performed on occasions like Akshay Trithya.

Madhya Pradesh's Women and Child Development Department has issued directives to its joint directors and district level development officers to upstream their efforts and prevent child marriages.

They are being supported by organisations like the Child Rights Observatory, an independent child rights monitoring body in Madhya Pradesh.

"Child marriage is a violation of a child's right. We are raising the issue with the state and will also support it in preventing the same," says Nirmala Buch, Child Rights Observatory president.

"Early marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional impact, cutting off educational opportunity and chances of individual development and growth for both boys and girls," Tania Goldner, chief of the Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh, told IANS.

"The consequences for girls are especially dire, as they are usually compelled into early childbearing which results in associated health risks and social isolation," she says.

"Child brides will frequently drop out of school and be exposed to higher risk of domestic violence and abuse, increased economic dependence, denial of decision-making power and inequality at home, which further perpetuate discrimination against and the low status of girls and women," she adds.

Saving Madhya Pradesh children with nutrition centres

Sanjay Sharma, Bhopal, April 30 (IANS) : Kartar Adivasi, a one-year-old, weighed just 6.342 kg when he was admitted to the nutritional rehabilitation centre (NRC) at Narwar in Madhya Pradesh.  Born to Banwari and Binia of village Kiranpura (Barkhadi), the child was kept at the NRC for 14 days and then under followup care at his house, with the result that his weight increased to 9.3 kg by the time he was 15 months old.

Like the one in Narwar, the nine NRCs of Shivpuri district have helped save the lives of 2,701 acutely malnourished children in 2009. Of them 53.5 percent were girls while the remaining 43.5 percent boys.

‘Of the 10 million below-five-years children in the state, 60 percent are malnourished and 100,000 are severely malnourished despite schemes to improve the services of ‘anganwadis’ (mother and child welfare centres) and nutrition centres. And half of them would have died but for the services provided by the NRCs,’ a health official said. Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) face a 10-20 times higher risk of death as compared to those who are not severely malnourished.

The NRCs, started with the technical support of Unicef for treatment of malnourished children, have gone a long way in saving the lives of the severely malnourished children, acknowledge officials and poor families.They are managed by the state health department under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). While the NRC at Shivpuri opened in 2006 was the first, Madhya Pradesh today has 202 such centres and plans to open 23 more, taking their total number to 225. The success of the NRCs in saving the lives of children has encouraged service providers.

‘However, running these centres is not easy,’ said an NRC staff member adding that they face great problems in keeping mothers in hospital for 14 days as they scramble for other children left behind at home.

Nevertheless, the NRCs are much-needed in the state. Their funding – annual cost of Rs.300,000 for each NRC – is provided by the state government through the NRHM while Unicef provides technical support and training for the centres’ staff. This includes one doctor, one nurse, one cook and two caretakers. Tania Goldner, chief of Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh, says NRCs are facility-based units for the care of children who suffer from SAM.

‘We are happy that the state government has set up NRCs in all districts of Madhya Pradesh. They are being managed under the NRHM while Unicef provides technical assistance,’ Goldner told IANS. ‘However, we need to encourage effective and efficient preventive measures at the community level to ensure that fewer and fewer children get into severe degrees of malnutrition,’ she added.

Madhya Pradesh: Holes in tribal food basket

Rubina Khan Shapoo NDTV, Sunday May 2, 2010, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh : The government is all set to pass the Food Bill that aims at giving monthly subsidised foodgrains to families Below the Poverty Line (BPL). However, the picture is not as peachy as it may seem. In a shocking story from the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh nine tribal children have died in just five months due to malnutrition. This incident has occurred even as hundreds of tribal families continue to get their share of food but only on paper.

Kashi, is one of the Sahariya tribals from Todha village in the district who has lost her three-year-old daughter. The reason not hard to find. "This is actually cattle feed. But we eat it too," says Kashi.

The overall death toll between December 2009 and April 2010 of children due to malnutrition related diseases in Shivpuri district to now 23. The Sahariyas are not only one of the most primitive tribes in India but are also among its poorest. Malnutrition deaths are a critical reason of untimely deaths in the community.

As per law, they are entitled to 35 kilos of wheat, five kilos of sugar and five litres of kerosene every month under the Antodaya scheme. In Todha village, however, the ration cards are operated by the sarpanch in collusion with the ration shop owner. The result: Cards are updated flawlessly while half the amount of food is given. Akki, a tribal from the village tells us he is given 25 kilos of wheat. But how much does he write in the card? Thirty-five kilos.

In nearby Pohri, another tribal-dominated district block ration delivered is for over 40,000 residents when the block has only 35,000 people who hold ration cards. An RTI application has proved that more than 5,000 cards are bogus.

However, Raj Kumar Pathak, Collector, Shivpuri district says, "There are no fraudulent ration cards. A probe is on." Malnutrition among children in Madhya Pradesh is 60 per cent, the highest in the country. In its tribal belts like Shivpuri it is even more intense. In the critical battle against hunger, the tribals are becoming the easiest victims.

Child marriages still prevalent in several MP districts

The Pioneer, Bhopal, Monday April 26, 2010 : As many as 57.5 per cent of girls in Barwani get married before attaining the age of 18 years. Not only Barwani, but other districts like Sehore, Neemach, Chhatarpur, Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Sheopur, Shivpuri are also facing a similar problem with more than 40 per cent of girls getting married there before 18 years.

These are the figures provided by the district-level household survey done by International Institute of Population Studies on behalf of Government of India. Madhya Pradesh is one of the States, which has the high incidence of child marriages, many of which happen during Akshay Tritiya, which is an auspicious occasion for marriages according to the Hindu religion.

This year, Akshay Tritiya is falling on May 16. Like every year, the State Government is busy preparing an action plan to prevent child marriages around that day. The Government of India had adopted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2006 but conviction rate under this Act is very low. As per the National Crime Bureau records last year, 11 people were convicted and two cases were registered in Madhya Pradesh.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it is a violation of child rights. Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh while speaking to The Pioneer said child marriages had adverse effects for the child bride and bridegroom and for the society as a whole. For both girls and boys, marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional impacts, cutting off educational opportunity and chances of personal growth.

She claimed that the consequences for girls were especially dire, as they are usually compelled into early childbearing, associated health risks and social isolation. Child brides frequently drop out of school and are exposed to higher risk of domestic violence and abuse, increased economic dependence, denial of decision-making power, inequality at home, which further perpetuates discrimination and low status of girls/women.

In India nearly half of all young women marry before the age of 18 (47 per cent as per National family Health Survey) and the situation is even more acute in rural areas

Right to education in Madhya Pradesh from April 1

Sanjay Sharma, IANS : Bhopal: The Right to Education (RTE) Act will be implemented in Madhya Pradesh from April 1, state Minister of School Education Archana Chitnis said here on Sunday.

Addressing a state level workshop on the RTE Act, the minister said the state government will be implementing from April 1, 2010, the act which envisages free and compulsory education to all its children till Class 8.

"To achieve compulsory education we will have to make school education interesting, which is a challenge and for the same we need to have tripartite responsibility of the state, teacher and parents," she said.

The workshop was held at RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration in Bhopal under the joint aegis of the state's education department and Unicef in order to familiarise the education and other departments with the act and seek suggestions from various stakeholders on the draft rules prepared by the state education department.

Speaking on the occasion, Tania Goldner, chief of Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh, said this act is a vehicle for change to accelerate progress in the education sector. Principal Secretary of Education department Snehlata Srivatsva said this is a unique act as it makes education a constitutional right. IANS

Workshop against female foeticide

Gwalior, April 18 (IBNS) A one-day workshop for raising concern against female foeticide was held at Gwalior on Friday (April 16).

The theme being 'Say no' to female foeticide, was organised by Department of Women and Child Development, Gwalior.  Welcoming the participants and speaking at the workshop Suresh Tomar Joint Director Women and Child Development department said that they are undertaking a special campaign to involve communities, parents, youth groups and schools children in 50 villages of Bhind and Morena each.

As a part of campaign department will be supporting film shows, workshops with various target groups in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena district to help build an environment against female foeticide.

Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh said that media can play an important role by bringing the issue to forefront of its discourse.

He added that as per Census 2001 data nine districts of the State of Madhya Pradesh have child sex ratio less then 900 girls / 1000 boys which include Sheopur, Morena, Datia, Bhind, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Tikamgarh and Chhattarpur.   "It is the need of that day efforts are scaled up to stop this violation of child rights." He praised the efforts of the Department of Women and Child in initiating this campaign.

International team to visit Dhar for water and sanitation interventions

Team of 12 international officers from various countries i.e. Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea is in the State of Madhya Pradesh as a part of International learning exchange programme of UNICEF and Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India.  This is 4th year of ILE in India. The team will be visiting Dhar on April 15- 16, 2010 and see the work being done in tribal areas on water and sanitation sector in the district. The officers are working with UNICEF in various countries and with respective National Governments.
 

They will be visiting Tirla, Nalcha and Dharampuri block of Dhar district to see community based interventions in water and sanitation, flouride mitigation initiatives and school sanitation. During their visit to the district they plan to visit Nirmal Gram villages, tribal hostels, schools, meet and interact with panchayat representatives and communities.
 

This is part of International Learning Exchange programme (ILE) which is a collaborative effort of UNICEF and the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India. The programme provides a platform to professionals from other developing countries for learning and knowledge-sharing from recent successes in, and challenges to India’s water and sanitation sector. 59 participants from 18 countries, namely, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Cambodia, Niger, Rawanda, Ghana, Djibouti, Angola, Bangladesh, Uganda, Indonesia, Zambia, Bhutan, Somalia and Eritrea are visiting India.

Madhya Pradesh village girl inspires others to take up studies

PTI : The Government Girls’ Middle School at Sherpur village in Madhya Pradesh is now being widely recognised as “Lalita Ka School.” 

Lalita is no politician but a gritty 15-year-old, whose firm determination to study has motivated other girls to follow suit at the same very school from where she studied from Class VI to VIII. Lalita, who has moved to another school for her further studies now, was the lone student in all the grades for the last three years, but this did not discourage her from continuing her studies. 

The school, located about 50 km from here, did not deter Lalita to travel all along to attend classes in Standard VI, VII and VIII, where three male teachers helped her out in all the subjects. 

The teenager cleared her Class VIII exams with first class marks, inspiring other girls in her area to take up studies in that school. Her father Madanlal Girwal, a government employee, was initially a little bit worried as she was alone in the classes but then supported his daughter seeing her zeal for education.Her parents have now decided to let Lalita continue her studies in another school, where she is not alone. 

Middle School Head Master Ashok Jaat said, “There were better schools around. Hence attendance of girls at our institute was thin. But now things have changed after Lalita scored first class marks. Now nearly 15 girls have taken admission in our school.” The population of Sherpur is 700, Mr. Jaat said.

For quality mid-day meals, MP teachers to taste food

Milind Ghatwai, Indian Express :  


This was in Indian Express today and is one more of Milind's 'different story' on issue of education in MP. 

 

In a novel attempt to improve the quality of mid-day meals served in schools, authorities in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh have made it compulsory for teachers to taste the food before serving it to students.Though the ambitious government programme of serving meals in schools has helped enroll more students and increase attendance, the quality of food has often been a concern due to poor implementation on ground. 

“There were lots of complaints of unpalatable food being served or children taking ill after the mid-day meals,” in-charge of MDM in Sagar Abhinit Sharma told The Sunday Express on what prompted the authorities to involve teachers in the drive to improve quality of food served in more than 3,000 primary and middle schools.

Incidentally, the practice is prevalent in jails where it’s incumbent on the superintendents or jailers to eat a few morsels of food served to prisoners. The Sagar administration has sent a circular to Chief Executive Officers of Janpad Panchayats and Block Resource Coordinators asking them to ensure that students are served food only after teachers have checked it.The food will be served to students only if teachers find it palatable and have been warned of action for complaints received later.

In rural areas, self-help-groups cook and transport the mid-day meals to schools and get a little more than Rs 2 per student. In addition, the groups are given 150 and 100 grams of grains per secondary and primary student, respectively. “To save money, many groups compromise on quality and show disregard for cleanliness,” an official said.

Need to focus on water quality

Central Chronicle, Bhopal, March 21:  A two day programme for UNI stringers and students of journalism was hosted by Makhanlal Chaturvedi University of Journalism and UNI at Bhopal. Speaking at the inaugural B K Kuthiala Vice Chancellor of University of Journalism said that content is the key and plays an important part in the news. He added that media can play a positive role in bringing in social change. A K Bhandari Chief Editor and Chief General Manager UNI said that UNI news agency plans to become a global player and has already initiated its presence in UNI TV and web portal. He said that with its wide presence UNI can help in bring in rich content for its subscribers.

Speaking at the occasion said that Anil Gulati Communication Officer with UNICEF said that media can play a role in bringing developmental issues particularly which impact children to forefront of public discourse and also create awareness on the solutions. He said that taking advantage of World Water Day which is being marked on March 22, 2010 media can bring discussion on the issues of water quality. He added that theme for this year is ‘clean water and health world’, which is very relevant for our times.

Aditi Prasad input incharge of UNI said this workshop will help increase knowledge of our stringers and students of journalism and will help us in our mission to reach out to people. Later speaking in the evening session Nagendra Prasad Singh, Water and Environmental Sanitation officer with UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh said that each day about 690 children under five years die due to diarrheal disease many of these deaths are water borne and can be prevented. Point of use water treatment alone can reduce diarrheal morbidity by 39 %  Pushpinder Pal Singh Head of Department of Journalism of MakhanLal Chaturvedi University of Journalism conducted the programme. Participants were trained by N B Nayar, Prosenjit Dey, Vikram Kapoor, Shailendra Mahajan and Rachna Johri

School kids show the way in water conservation

Arun Anand, IANS : Vikas Pawar, a student of Class X, was so impressed by the Wise Water Management efforts being implemented in his Madhya Pradesh school by Unicef that he made it part of a science project.

He built a cardboard and plaster model showing how water could be conserved and recycled effectively to avoid a shortage. His Government Scheduled Caste Residential School is in Katara Hills near Bhopal, capital of the state which sees acute water shortage in summer.

'There are two ways by which water is being conserved in my school hostel. One is by collecting rain water during the monsoons in a Ferro Cement tank with a 50,000 litre capacity,' he explained. 'Collected rain water can be used for drinking and cooking purposes during the summer months when there is a shortage of water. 'The other method is by recycling grey water for flushing toilets,' Pawar said.

'Grey water' is that which has been used once for bathing and washing clothes. On an average, a student in the school hostel uses 30 litre of water per day in the bathroom. This water could be reused for toilet flushing and kitchen gardening. The school has 209 residential students.

'Used water from bathrooms is passed through a sponge filter,' said Nagmati Malviya, a Class XII student, pointing to a large pipe emerging from the outer wall of the bathrooms.

'Materials like plastic sachets of shampoo, soap wrappers get filtered as the water passes through this filter. The water is guided into a reservoir which is divided into five sedimentation tanks.' Suspended particles are settled in the first tank before the water is passed on to the adjoining segment and subsequently gets filtered while passing through the various chambers.

The second, third and fourth tanks have boulders of different sizes. As water passes in an up-flow, down-flow current through the filters, it leaves behind all perceptible impurities. Filtered water then flows down a series of 'aeration steps' that resemble a flight of stairs.

'The purpose of running the water in the open is to bring it in contact with oxygen from the atmosphere to reduce the odour of filtered greywater if any,' Nagmati said, giving a demonstration.

'The fifth tank collects the filtered water which is pumped by a motor to the tank placed on the roof of the hostel from where it goes to the cistern in the toilets and the remaining water is used for kitchen gardening.'

To combat the shortage of drinking water during summer, the school collects rain water from July to September every year. 'The school being located on a hill, there is acute water shortage during summers. The soil is rocky and the water level is far below,' said Mamta Ahirwar, scout training teacher. 'During the monsoons, all the water would flow down the hill slope and was wasted.'
 

But for the last one year, this school collects rain water, stores it in a reservoir with 50,000 litre capacity. The water is filtered, treated and then used for drinking and cooking.

The Wise Water Management (WWM) concept was developed by UNICEF, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and Public Health Engineering Department, government of Madhya Pradesh. It was demonstrated in eight tribal residential schools of Dhar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh.

The WWM scheme was also demonstrated in two scheduled caste residential schools in Bhopal. The department of Tribal Welfare in Madhya Pradesh is now replicating this model in 400 tribal residential schools across the state. 'This will improve the quality of life for children and also have a positive effect on the environment. This is just a beginning. I hope this model will be replicated across the state for the benefit of all children and families of Madhya Pradesh,' says Tania Goldner, chief of UNICEF field office for Madhya Pradesh.'

'Fulfillment of rights justice for children'

Bhopal, Mar 25 (IBNS) A training meet on child rights and protection issue was hosted by RCVP Noroha Academy of Administration and UNICEF on Thursday for trainee officers of All-India/Central officers. Speaking at the function Amod Kant, Chairperson Delhi Commission for protection of child rights said: "Fulfillment of rights and needs is justice for children." He is also associated with Prayas an NGO working for children in need of care and protection across many states in India.

He added State needs to take care of children not only who are in conflict with law, but who are victims and witnesses. And inspite of progress in India we have major challenges like child labour, school drop outs, situation of children in juvenile homes and children in conflict with law.

Earlier speaking in her address Dr Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh spoke on Convention on the Rights of the Child, and for making world fit for children, children need to be understood and protected. She added that it is obligation of State to make sure that children realise their full rights. She said that all children have rights which are equal at all times.

She in her address to the participants added that ‘you are custodians of the convention and as duty bearers need to help children realize their rights.On the issues of Children in conflict with law ‘that they should be treated as children and deserve a chance and detention should be the last resort’ she added.

Principal Secretary Snehlata Srivastava School Education spoke on the Right to Education and issue of child labour. She said that State of Madhya Pradesh is going to implement Right to Education Act from April 1, 2010.Dr J L Bose spoke on the constitution and child rights and on the responsibility of the state to ensuring protection of child rights which lies with their relatives, society and the state government. Muktesh Varshney, Director Academy of Administration, spoke at the start on the objectives of the meet.

Silent demonstration in Gwalior & Shivpuri

Gwalior/Shivpuri : Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Gwalior on Thursday to take part in a silent demonstration against female infanticide and foeticide. Holding banners with the slogans 'Save Daughters' and their mouths masked by a cloth to signify the silenced voice of the girl child, both men and women activists held hands to form a long human chain and stood in solidarity as a part of this rally. It was facilitated by Centre for Integrated Development, an non governmental organisation. Similar demonstration was held at Shivpuri district outside the collectorate. The same was facilitated by Sahyog - Support for Development. Representatives from civil society and media  participated in the same (Picture is from Shivpuri).

Children most vulnerable, can be easily exploited, says Goldner

In Pioneer, Bhopal Edition : Director General of Police SK Rout said that children are torchbearers of tomorrow. “We have vast majority of population which are children and young people and there are challenges of abuse, violence, trafficking and the magnitude of problem is also vast.” To respond to it, inclusive approach is needed involving all sectors of the society.

Rout was speaking at the sensitisation and review workshop of Child Welfare Officers and Special Juvenile Police Unit members here on Tuesday at Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI). He further said that in Juvenile Justice Act, it is for the first time that police officers have been given duty of social responsibility as he is first contact point with children in conflict with law, and he has called on special police juvenile units that we need to respond to it.

Speaking on the occasion Tania Goldner, chief of UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh said that Children are the most vulnerable group on account of their age and dependence; they can be easily exploited and abused. In case children have violated law they should be treated in a manner consistent with their sense of dignity, worth and which reinforces their respect for human rights.

KN Tiwari, Inspector General, CID welcomed the participants and thanked UNICEF for its support in sensitising police units on Juvenile Justice Act. Vijai Shukul Member MP Human Rights Commission spoke about the challenges on implementation of the act and difficult conditions of Juvenile homes in the State, He added we need to expand on infrastructure create a protective environment in the homes and treat them as our children not the ones who have done as crime.

Panel discussions were held on the issue on Children in conflict with law and Children in need of protection and care. Speaking at the panel discussion NK Singh Resident Editor, Hindustan Times spoke on the needs of media, its compulsions and how one can work with media in raising issues of this concern.

Children need to know their rights

United Nations Children's Fund Madhya Pradesh Field Office Chief Tania Goldner today stressed that children need to know about their rights and ''all of us'' as stakeholders are duty-bound to inform them and help them claim their rights. Dr Goldner was addressing a prize distribution ceremony at Jawahar Bal Bhawan here. The event was organised by Child Rights Observatory (CRO) to felicitate kids who participated in a painting and essay competition held in November on the issue of child rights. More than 200 participants were present, a release said. ''It is heartening to see children painting their thoughts on their own rights. For me you are all winners not only the ones who came first. Your participation and recognition of your rights makes you winners,'' she said. CRO President Nirmala Buch spoke on the need for child articipation and said that CRO organised this competition and is taking several other initiatives to involve kids.

UNICEF-supported Risk Reduction Project in MP

UNI, Bhopal : United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the Madhya Pradesh government and city-based Disaster Management Institute (DMI) in implementing a unique community-based Disaster Risk Reduction Project in ten districts of the state.

The project, which got under way in November 2008 and at present covers 100 villages across Guna, Mandsaur, Damoh, Dhar, Harda, Raisen, Sheopur, Satna, Chhindwara and Barwani, aims to cover 250 villages by 2010-end.

''It envisages reducing loss of life and related risks by making people self-resilient. This project is helping strengthen the community-coping mechanism through capacity-building at grassroots level,'' Dr Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF's Field Office for Madhya Pradesh, told UNI.

Being taken up on pilot basis, the project aims at building capacities at community level to manage safe havens while ensuring that basic services -- specially related to children and women (health, nutrition and education) -- are accessible, establishing community-based systems for ensuring protection of children and to facilitate preparation of district disaster management plans in the districts, the Project Plan document of the initiative said.

MP to launch missing children website

The Madhya Pradesh government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department is all set to launch a website for missing children in the state which could help in identifying and tracing them. "We are planning a website for the missing children, so that they could be clearly identified," the department's deputy director and Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in-charge Mamta Pathak told media as per the reports, adding that the initiative would help to trace and rehabilitate missing children.

The ICPS will entail integration of all the 18 different schemes for the protection of child rights and security, which would now be implemented by a single department. UNICEF is assiting the state for  implementation of ICPS in the state. In addition to it other non-governmental organisations, and other departments of the state are helping in the same.The collection of data about missing children and the implementation the various schemes under an integrated ICPS has already been started with the help of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) and other child rights agencies, she said.

Madhya Pradesh is the 6th state to sign a memorandum of understanding with the central government for the implementation of ICPS, Pathak said. ICPS is a centrally sponsored "umbrella scheme" for protection of child rights and security while woman and child department would be the nodal agency to implement it.

"It would go a long way in working for the cause of children as various schemes pertaining to protection and security of children will now be implemented by one department," Women and Child Development Commissioner Gulshan Bambra said.