Birth of a street newspaper, a story to be retold
How many of us have seen street children selling newspapers out on the streets? No doubt, all of us have. They sell newspapers which contain news mostly of no relevance to them. However a young girl has been running a newspaper in Noida that has been telling the story of street children. For all those who believe it is mandatory to have a degree to be a reporter, this might come as a surprise as well.
Chandni, a 16-year-old girl is the one who has brought about this turn of events. Chandni has been living on the streets of Noida with her mother in a crammed tent. Since her father died a long time before, her mother has been finding it difficult to support the family and is trying to make ends meet by selling sweet corn on the streets. The family consists of her brothers and sisters which makes survival a harder struggle.
She never thought her life could change for the better when a group of people from a charity organization 'Badhte Kadam ' met with her and told her they could actually help her go to school and bring about a change in her life. Chandni saw it as an opportunity to not only make a difference for her but also for her friends who she believed could have a better way of life. She was clear in her vision of wanting to be heard by all.
She met with a lot of opposition and chiding for wanting an education, but went ahead and learned how to read and write. Nobody in her family knows how to read and write
As of today, she is the editor of Badthe Kadam's newspaper Balaknama which is written by street kids and read widely by them as well. It is an eight page newspaper with stories and issues concerning street children. It has been running successfully and reaches around 5,000, mostly street children. The stories cover the children of the northern area around Delhi.
Statistical reports show that there are about half a million of these children in Delhi itself, so the plight of the rest in the country can be shockingly assumed. Through the paper Chandni provides insights into how the less lucky often end up as liabilities to the society.
While throwing light on how children end up in places that they do not wish to be in, Chandni also used her paper to publicize government programmes that have been implemented just for street kids. She doesn't want them to be ignorant and would want them to realize that they can overcome their plight some day if they have the opportunity to do so.
She has about eight child reporters who go around getting stories from their own as well as nearby slums and other areas. Chandni makes it a point to go around to distant areas as she believes their stories are not limited to a place or time. In a country where the government is often finding it difficult to implement developmental strategies, people like Chandni do make a welcome change.
Chandni, a 16-year-old girl is the one who has brought about this turn of events. Chandni has been living on the streets of Noida with her mother in a crammed tent. Since her father died a long time before, her mother has been finding it difficult to support the family and is trying to make ends meet by selling sweet corn on the streets. The family consists of her brothers and sisters which makes survival a harder struggle.
She never thought her life could change for the better when a group of people from a charity organization 'Badhte Kadam ' met with her and told her they could actually help her go to school and bring about a change in her life. Chandni saw it as an opportunity to not only make a difference for her but also for her friends who she believed could have a better way of life. She was clear in her vision of wanting to be heard by all.
She met with a lot of opposition and chiding for wanting an education, but went ahead and learned how to read and write. Nobody in her family knows how to read and write
As of today, she is the editor of Badthe Kadam's newspaper Balaknama which is written by street kids and read widely by them as well. It is an eight page newspaper with stories and issues concerning street children. It has been running successfully and reaches around 5,000, mostly street children. The stories cover the children of the northern area around Delhi.
Statistical reports show that there are about half a million of these children in Delhi itself, so the plight of the rest in the country can be shockingly assumed. Through the paper Chandni provides insights into how the less lucky often end up as liabilities to the society.
While throwing light on how children end up in places that they do not wish to be in, Chandni also used her paper to publicize government programmes that have been implemented just for street kids. She doesn't want them to be ignorant and would want them to realize that they can overcome their plight some day if they have the opportunity to do so.
She has about eight child reporters who go around getting stories from their own as well as nearby slums and other areas. Chandni makes it a point to go around to distant areas as she believes their stories are not limited to a place or time. In a country where the government is often finding it difficult to implement developmental strategies, people like Chandni do make a welcome change.
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