Transform the Lives of Children in Gujarat, India

Balsena: 

During the past four months we conducted many activities. One major change was in our strategy. Until last year we were working only with Balsena members in the schools but we decided to work with all children of the schools where we work hence we were able to reach a much larger number of children in schools this year.  Hence we started “Children Empowerment and Development Program” in schools. 

Over the past four months, the Balsena process has continued to empower children to make collective decisions and advocate for their rights. Our belief in education extending beyond formal schooling has led us to prioritize experiential learning and character building. Through a variety of community and school activities, we have instilled values and life skills in children, while also honing their teamwork and leadership capabilities. This period of engagement has been highly constructive, with children and program teams collaborating closely to plan and execute activities, from Balsena Point to Sports Day. The remarkable collaboration between parents, teachers, and children has been a cornerstone of our success, ensuring that we remain active and productive in our mission.

From May 2023 to October 2023, across the four zones of Kumbharwada, Fulsar, Gaushala, and City Zone, a total of 22 local areas witnessed the active participation of 713 children in the Balsena's activities and programs. Among them, 355 were boys, while 358 were girls. Besides, we worked with 2459 children (1287 girls and 1172 boys) in schools under the Children Empowerment and Protection Program. 

Life Skills:

Self-awareness was encouraged among the children, enabling them to recognize their likes and abilities, communicate effectively with others, and pursue their dreams with determination. Various programs, such as “Tree of dreams”, “Rhythm- Rhythm” and “You Are Special” were conducted to support their personal growth and development.

The development of latent abilities and sensitivity for the environment among children is encouraged through continuous brainstorming and practical activities using experiential education methods. These activities include creating paper craft items together, such as making paper bags or wastes from the cardboards. Subsequently, by using discarded or used items, children engage in very creative endeavors by repurposing them into new, valuable objects. This kind of activity enables children to craft items such as trucks and savings boxes from trash, fostering creativity and resourcefulness among children.

Children take on leadership roles and, by joining hands with others, work as a team to strengthen their organization and take it forward. They make efforts to organize activities with other children and team-building exercises aimed at activities such as creating unity, friendship and solidarity, playing games, building families, discussing the history and values of Balsena, and many more.

Balsena Council and Active Team Members’ Meetings 

In Balsena, there are currently a total of 22 Teams. Each team appoints a captain, vice-captain and two core team members who are responsible for organizing activities on their respective points. All these representatives of various teams make the Council of Balsena which is the main decision making body. It elects President and Vice- President of Balsena. This Council members’ term is for one year. Those who were active and have taken responsibilities are nominated to be active team members. They take more responsibilities for organising common Balsena programs. 

Council meetings are held on the first Sunday of every month to discuss the activities conducted on their points during the previous month and to plan activities for the upcoming month. These meetings ensure effective communication and coordination among the council members. During these meetings, council members discuss various topics and issues related to the activities on their points. The topics included responsibilities and roles of council members in relation to the children on their points, and follow-up for the next month's meeting, planning and organizing activities for the upcoming month, Challenges and their solutions for their points, Reports on the activities conducted on the points, Selection of names for the Balsena representatives to various state and national level programs, Leadership Academy discussions, Organizing programs and sharing experiences by the children.

These meetings serve as a platform for active council members to raise questions, concerns, and challenges. During these meetings, council members actively discuss various aspects of their activities, and they have the authority to impose fines if any child or Baldost (Shaishav Facilitator) is not wearing a scarf. This fine money is used to organize programs on the Balsena points. 

Kishori Mandal and TOT

The adolescent phase is a pivotal period in a person's life. As children undergo puberty during this time, they go through a multitude of physical, mental, and emotional transformations. It's a time of burgeoning curiosity and decision-making. Additionally, adolescence marks the awakening of one's sexuality, often leading to the exploration of relationships, some of which can become unsafe or toxic. With increased online and social media activity, adolescents are also exposed to various online safety risks. Therefore, we offer guidance and protective measures to address these concerns.  

In the community, girls take on leadership roles, inspiring and encouraging other teenagers. With this purpose in mind, the Teen TOT (Training of Trainers) program for girls was organised every month, involving 4 girl leaders over the course of 4 months. Out of these, 22 girls from various areas actively participated. They received leadership training and engaged in discussions on various issues, including identity, puberty, trust walk, "What is a boy?" and "What is a girl?". A total of 4 TOT (Training of Trainers) sessions were organized, and a total of 94 adolescent girls participated. On average, 23 girls attended each of the 4 TOT sessions.

Activities in Schools: Children Empowerment and Protection Program

In the context of school activities, working actively with children began in the month of July.  Earlier some time was spent in waiting to receive permission from the Municipal School board to work in the government schools. However, due to various reasons, work in government schools was restricted, and hence, it was decided to engage in work in private schools. Currently, we are working in 18 schools where children are engaged in activities that empower them with leadership qualities and teamwork skills, working with their peers. In these schools, work is oriented towards life skills and creative activities, empowering children leading to holistic development with a creative approach.

We are associated with 18 private schools in Bhavnagar. We work at the school on a weekly or fortnightly basis depending on their convenience. They don't allow us to work in schools during exams and unit tests. So we were not able to do as many activities in the schools as we do in the communities. Between July 2023 and October 2023, a total of 232 activities were successfully conducted in 18 schools. We started working from the month of August, so the number of activities are less.

A few of the schools were new and many children were mostly participating in all these activities for the first time. The activities of Balsena were very new and different to them. It was a new way of learning outside of books and classrooms. This engaging, activity-based, fun and participatory learning was well received by the children. Children share and discuss various things with our facilitators which they cannot do with school teachers. So a good bonding developed in a short time. We are planning to work with children in small groups so that we can do intensive activities with them.

CPC and  Cluster level (Faliya) meetings 

Since the month of July, the work of Child Line has been taken over by the government and the organization has changed its strategy and organized a meeting with the parents in the communities in the form of a parents meetings. In which Balsena children participated and discussed the activities going on at the Balsena point, various issues of the area etc. Thus, parents’ meetings were organized during the months of July and August. In 5 such guardian meetings which were held during the month of July and 22 in August in which 37 males and 258 females participated in a total of 295 parents.

 But, from the experience of parents’ meetings, it was realized that guardians could not join meetings regularly. The reasons include whether parents are away from their homes, parents are working or their own personal reasons, in most areas parents are engaged in casual labor such as carpentry, plastic bag making, field hoeing, diamond grinding, paati (rope) making. can't So, after making some changes in it, a new strategy was adopted to reach more parents which was given in the form of a FALIYA (cluster) Meeting. In which not only parents of Balsena children but also other parents can join. FALIYA meetings have been implemented since the month of September and FALIYA meetings have been held as planned in which 118 FALIYA meetings have been held out of the target of 126 FALIYA meetings in 22 areas. In which the total number of participating parents is 665 in which 129 males and 536 females have participated in the FALIYA meeting. Topics such as the multifaceted aspects of health and care for children, recognizing the need for a holistic approach in ensuring their well-being. This thorough exploration of various facets of Anganwadis aimed to foster a more nuanced understanding of the challenges at hand, laying the groundwork for informed and effective solutions were discussed in these FALIYA meetings with parents.

Suggestions for the National Child Protection Policy

NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) prepared a national level child protection policy and sought feedback from the CSOs on the draft. So we decided to give feedback to Balsena and Tarunsena. A meeting held on June 8, 2023, 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, were given the opportunity to share their opinions and suggestions on the National Child Protection Policy. The meeting highlighted the issue of child abuse and the importance of ensuring children's safety and security rights. The children were encouraged to express their views on the current situation and provide suggestions for improvement. This meeting was a crucial step in empowering children and ensuring their safeguarding. The recommendations made during the meeting included measures such as providing open spaces near children's homes, ensuring fire safety in schools, and offering legal protection for children facing harassment. These recommendations emphasize the importance of child safety and education, and the need for support from various sectors, including government and educational institutions.

During a group discussion with children, various essential questions were posed, and the children provided insightful answers on ensuring child safety and increasing awareness of child protection. The discussions covered several key aspects. The children's responses reflect their awareness and concern for issues related to child safety, protection, and a child-friendly environment, and their insights serve as valuable contributions to addressing these critical matters.

These recommendations were sent to the National network called “Young Voices” which collected such suggestions from different groups across the country, compiled them and submitted them to the NCPCR. The report of the suggestions given by Balsena children is enclosed in the Annexure below. 

Balsena and their representation

A state-level event was organized by Shaishav in Vadodara on the 30th September, 2023. The event featured the participation of three children and one youth army member from the Balsena organization. The Balsena organization consisted of one boy and two girls. This event held great significance as it marked the celebration of Shaishav's 30-year journey and the 20-year milestone of the Balsena as an independent children’s collective. It attracted individuals who have dedicated substantial time to working with children and those with a strong passion for continually innovating to enhance children's experiences.

During the program, Shaishav, with its 30 years of commitment to child development, unveiled two documents titled "Sahkaryni Sarthakta" and "Balpan ne Chahava, Samajva, Pamva no Swathyay”. Both documents are in Gujarati and we will translate it later. The first document is a report of Impact Assessment of 130 former and present Balsena children and its impact on their lives. While the second document outlines the process, evolution, learning, experiences, achievements, challenges and impact of Balsena on children, their families and communities. We were lucky that we found one renowned writer to write stories of Balsena children in a story format. A few of these stories were also included in this document. 

These publications provided valuable insights and lessons gained from their extensive work with children. Members of the Balsena took the opportunity to share their personal experiences, highlighting the knowledge they have acquired and how these lessons have positively transformed their lives.

We hope that we can share these publications with you soon.