Esha Chaudhuri traces the footsteps of young trailblazers transforming their community through action for a brighter tomorrow.
The oldest and fondest memories of Children’s Day is probably one that is etched with those feting a day dedicated to children; their fun and frolic. Those moments, however, now feel like a thing of the past. In a world shaped by fast-paced technological shifts, children today face a new set of complexities and challenges.
To respond to these evolving realities, Child Friendly Shillong, a local project, has developed an approach that not only supports children in distress but also empowers them by educating them about their rights. One such effort includes the formation of sustainable Child Rights Clubs (CRCs) across neighbourhoods in the city, each aimed at nurturing confident, informed young citizens.
To understand the impact of these initiatives, Sunday Shillong explores the children’s clubs up close and discovers how they are adding meaningful value to childhood in today’s context.
Child Rights Clubs (CRCs)
Child Rights Clubs (CRCs) are children’s groups which empower children, educate them about their rights and responsibilities, build their capacity to be able leaders, and encourage them not just to be members of a community, but vibrant and active agents for change. These clubs exist in both schools and communities, and present an opportunity for children to raise, discuss and address issues that affect them.
Through the CRCs, children learn about the power of mobilising people and organising activities in order to claim and achieve their rights. These processes can significantly enhance their development in becoming active citizens in the future. CRCs conduct various activities and programmes to promote child rights and well-being of children.
CRCs empower children to understand their rights and responsibilities, develop leadership, and act as agents of change in schools and communities. The clubs promote child rights through rallies, campaigns, and awareness drives, along with sports and cultural events. They are also engaging in various programs with adults in the community, village leaders, and local authorities to strengthen child protection and their participation in the community.
Overall, this Child Friendly Shillong has strengthened children in the community through children participation, support from the parents, adults and village leaders and stakeholders.
Word from members
Sunday Shillong interacted with two members – Imran Thongni (17) and Vaani Biswa (16) from two separate clubs to understand the length and breadth of children’s issues existent within their peer groups and the nature of assistance they provide with the help of the stakeholders present.
Thongni, who has been a part of the club since February 2022 belongs to the Child Kingdom Club Kynjat Phutbol. He says, “We discuss what’s happening in our society and we ask our club members about any problems that they face and then help them to solve it.”
With 10 permanent members as of now, Thongni says that their primary objective is to rid society of all antisocial activities that harm young people and make them feel embarrassed to talk about it.
Learning about child rights is another important aspect of these clubs. “Learning about our rights helps improve our confidence and in some cases, when we need help we can approach headmen too and he’s always there for us when we need him” , emphasises Thongni.
Biswa, who is from Lumshyap adds to this, “The aim of these activities is to make Shillong a safe, friendly and comfortable city for children by promoting and protecting their rights and to make children be self-awareness and self-confidence in oneself and make them able to speak up for what is wrong.”
Speaking about the activities and community engagement, he shares, “Our club activities are not restricted for the children in the club but we extend services and help many children financially who are school dropouts from the donations.”
Explaining her role in the club, Biswa says, “My role in this club is to be an active member, speaker and an agent of change in my community. To express my inner feelings for what is wrong and to be able to work with elders and government officers and to make my community a better and safer place.”
Speaking about other community projects, Thongni adds, “These include cleaning drives in our locality that entail the playground for a safer experience during outdoor games because usually there are many broken bottles and have also made sign boards to dissuade people from throwing the garbage and brokens bottles in the playgrounds.”
With three clubs in her locality – Upper Lumshyap, Lower Lumshyap, and Dongkamon with 10 members in each, Biswa talks about the importance of community projects and their significance. She says, “Issues like road safety, adequate street lights, proper drainage, water shortage, rise in drug addiction, as well as petty neighbourhood theft are discussed in our club. As we try to resolve them with the help of our group leaders (Sir and Miss) and the guidance of our headman, we also gain self-awareness, self-confidence, build our speaking power and learn how to organise programmes and build our personalities and leadership qualities.”
Biswa also highlights some local issues that were raised by club members and found a solution. “A member had once called attention to the absence of speed breakers in their locality due to which many dangerous accidents had occurred. This problem was addressed to the community headman by writing a letter to him and he had taken quick action on it by taking it up with the PWD officers after which they had constructed the speed breakers in their locality.”
Another case in point narrated by Biswa was the issue of littering and garbage dumping.
“A member had spoken about the menace of littering and it was decided amongst members to have a cleanliness drive and raise awareness about the benefits of a clean locality. From there on, the motivated member also raised the issue of adequate street lights in his locality and wrote a letter to the headman after which he placed streetlights in his locality.”
In total, there are 101 such clubs in schools and communities with 3164 members in different CRCs in Shillong city.
Child Friendly Shillong, a carefully crafted initiative is a project launched in August 2021 by the Bosco Integrated Development Society (BIDS), and is aimed to create awareness about child rights and services available for children among children. Apart from this, the project also strives to provide protective measures for vulnerable children and strengthen community-based child protection systems.
Anchoring children’s rights, voices, and needs within local governance and community life, CFS has remained a consistent advocate for child wellbeing, creating a measurable and positive impact.
