Convergence program with a child perspective
SAFP was commissioned to document a convergence program with a child perspective. This draft report is temporarily on SAFP web site to share this report. An example of caring community is witnessed in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh through the work of TAAL in a project supported by UNICEF. The centre of the activity is a Baal Sammoh or the child rights group of children under from 6 to14yrs who are supported by a Bal Sahayata Dal group of elders that includes Punchayat members . The elders and children select issues that they want to work on in their village and also identify the most needy families who require support from state and central schemes. The TAAL staff trains the Bal Sahayata Dal to monitor which scheme has reached the families on a monthly basis such that the delivery of entitlements through PDS, Anganwadi, Pension, MNREGA, Nutrition rehabilitation centre etc is done. This is done through a family monitoring of scheme and entitlement delivery card that is kept at a village information and child centre for any one to review.
This community has thus collectively cared for elders and children at Shivpuri with a workable model that can be worked for institutionalization through out India.The center gets together both adults and children to work upon issues bought to their notice that need to be resolved through the gram
punchayat. So far the children have succeeded in getting a boundary wall of a school, a land and building grant for a new school building, an aganwadi started in their village. Besides elders are now motivated to organize the centre as a place that can work for convergence of all schemes from the government. Women’s equal participation seems an exclusion in this process so far. The women in Punchayat need to be trained to work on this further.
