Four years ago, Shruthi K. was a student whose knowledge was limited to the classroom kind. Now, the 16-year-old rattles off the provisions of the U.N. Child Rights Convention and talks about it to others like her.
A “child councillor” from Korukkupet, she finds children and educates them on their rights. She is part of the 270-strong child councillor group, moderated by NGOs in the city.
“My primary work is to speak to children in my area of the ward, and encourage them to ask questions and demand their rights,” she says. Shruthi, along with four other such child councillors, took part in a consultation held by Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children, in association with Patrician College of Arts and Science, Gandhi Nagar. The event explored the importance of child participation in local governance.
Mala E., the project officer of the initiative from Arunodhaya points out the importance of representation of child rights through children themselves. “In the current local governance, councillors do not represent concerns of children. They are unable to get down to their level. For children to be heard, they need to be represented adequately,” she says.
At present, there are 10 councillors each for 27 wards in the city. The aim is to have child councillors in all the wards of the city.
Mohanapriya V., a newly elected child councillor from Nochi Nagar, says some children wish for simple things such as swings to be repaired in the park nearby, but some others have a far more serious concern: education. “In my door-to-door campaign, I see lot of children saying they wish they were able to go to school. We hope our report to authorities will highlight the issue to them.”
A report every three months is submitted to their seniors in the council, and a representation was once made to the Mayor as well.
The elected councillors of the ‘Children Nagara Sabai’ exhibited a number of photographs of street children which they had captured during the workshop. They explained how they work to NGOs, in the hopes that more organisations start supporting the initiative in other areas. “We hope, as in Karnataka, children councillors are recognised by the government,” B. Vignesh, a child councillor from Ennore, adds.
Andrew Sesuraj, State convener of the Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory, spoke.
