Jhabua: For the Adivasi children of a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district, life has taken a turn for the better. These children are not only studying in schools, they are also learning modern crafts like photography.
A local organisation Vasudha Vikas Sansthan, with the help of Unicef, is giving the children of Gopalapura village a medium to exercise their creativity and also a chance to make a career out of it.
For the Adivasi children, a camera is no longer a dream object, but is a hands on equipment to aim and shoot.
“We have been properly trained to handle cameras. We are a group now and we move around not only in our village, but also go outside to do photography. Now, many times, we are invited by families to click their personal pictures,” said 12th class student Sheila Damore.
“It is very important to make them learn new things, tell them about innovations and teach them life skills, so that they know about their rights and also know what to choose as their profession,” said Gayatri Parihar, Director, Vasudha Vikas Sansthan.
She said, “Children here are very excited to learn about cameras and photography. They are curious and eager to learn and adapt. Unicef is helping us out.”
Unicef communication specialist Anil Gulati said: “The children are liking this. Through this medium, they can express themselves and this talent can help them in future as well.”
“Adivasis have been treated as being different, which is very wrong. Such efforts can help in their growth,” said Manish Rajput, social activist and Madhya Pradesh Sarvodyaya Mandal convenor.
The children in the age group of 12 to 16 are being helped to learn and reach out. Some of them are already thinking of taking up photography as their profession and the day is not far when the photographs clicked by them may be seen in exhibitions in the cities and towns. (IANS)
