Seva Mandir

Started in 2004, Seva Mandir’s Child Representative Program is a collaboration with Plan International both to raise funds as well as to gain technical knowledge and insights into child-centric development. Plan International, a major partner of Seva Mandir’s, raises funds by sponsoring children from marginalized backgrounds

The Child Representative Program focuses on child-centric community development both by creating a child friendly environment in the community as well as changing the attitudes and behavior of the various stakeholders (policy makers, staff, grassroots workers, community members including children etc.)  to bring about positive changes.

Child representatives, who constitute a representative sample of children from Seva Mandir’s work area, are selected providing a better understanding of the critical issues that are being faced by children in its work area. This will help Seva Mandir analyze the quantitative and qualitative impact of development interventions on children’s lives.

 

The need:

• To understand the impact of development interventions on the lives of children.
  
• To inculcate child-centric approach as a across cutting issue across development programs.
• To enhance understanding, sensitivity and working capacity on child related issues, concerns, and their development needs.
• To provide a forum for children to voice there concerns and participate in their own development process.

 

Impact:

 

• Over the last five years the communities Seva Mandir works with have developed an about children’s issues.
• Village development committees have started to incorporate children into their discussion about development of the village.
• There are 64 child forums (separate from the village development committees) operating in 64 villages were children participate in various development activities. Along with participating in development activities these child forums also collectively manage communication between the children and their sponsors.
• There has been an overall increase in awareness and understanding amongst both children and their parents about their rights, duties and responsibilities.
• With 5000-child representatives there is large amount of information gathered on the situation of children and their needs (like birth registration immunization, education, health, migration, physically challenged, and deaths). This information is then disseminated to the other departments so that they work towards designing programs or modifying existing ones to meet these needs.

 

Current Situation:

• The child representative program is run in 137 villages across the five blocks of Badgoan, Girwa, Jhadol, Kherwada and Kotra.
• There are approximately 5000 child representatives evenly distributed across all the five blocks, with 2830 girl representatives and 2170 boy representatives
• There are 64 child development forums in which only children participate.
• There are 35 rural youth photographers are engaged in taking photos of child representative.
• 35 child representatives have died due to disease or accident and 65 child representatives have permanently migrated with in state or other states.

 

Future Challenges:

• One of the major challenges lies in explaining to village institutions the importance and necessity of a child centric development approach.
• Increasing the capacities and awareness levels of the employees of Seva Mandir, the communities and local leaders regarding the child centric development approach.
• Understanding the reasons for the death of our child representatives and working towards preventing such incidents in the future.
• Reducing the dropout rates, especially those of girls, of children going to school.
• Increasing the immunization levels and birth registrations of new born and existing children.

 

If you would like to support our  Child Representative Program  please visit our Donation Page

For more information please Contact Us