Ref. UNICEF website
Sherpur, Bangladesh, 15 March 2012: For three decades,
the large pond at Sherpur Government Girls High School sat in the middle of the
whittled playground. The students played around it, trying hard to avoid the
piles of rubbish that were slowly gathering around the edge and the smell emanating
from the filthy water. There was little room for the 900 students at the school
to exercise, let alone set up sporting games like badminton, a favourite at the
school.
Now,
the students no longer have to worry because the pond has been filled thanks to
a 150,000 taka donation, organised by a local Member of Parliament. It was
during that visit that he was persuaded to improve the school’s playground -
not by the teachers or the Head Master but by a 13-year-old girl named
KarizFatema Queen.
[The
M.P] came to visit the school to inspect the building and hear about any
problems we may have had. I mentioned that the first thing we need to do was
get rid of the pond so we had room to play,” says Queen, recounting the story.
“I was confident enough to speak to him in front of everyone because I knew I
had a right to voice my opinion. He was impressed with me and asked what
extra-curricular activities I was doing. I told him I was involved with
Children Express” she says.
Based
on the mantra 'Let the Children Speak'Children Express began in 2005 with the
aim of increasing the participation of children in the mass-media, and to
raising awareness among professional journalists on child rights and
representation.
Children
Express is run by UNICEF-partner Mass-line Media Centre (MMC) in 64 districts
of Bangladesh and every two years in each district, 10 child journalists - five
boys and five girls- are chosen to form a news agency that is supervised by a
senior journalist, known as a team leader. The child journalists are encouraged
to write reports about issues surrounding child rights.
Since
the project began, it has nurtured 1,800 child journalists country-wide by
training them on feature writing, workplace ethics, the use of technical
equipment such as computers and cameras and child rights and responsibilities.
“The
children enrolled [in the Child Express programme are more confident in
communicating their ideas. They often perform better at school, which is
something their parents feel very positive about.” says Mohammad Abdul Hakim
Babul, a journalist and Team Leader of Sherpur Children Express.
Hakin
meets Queen and her fellow child journalists every fortnightat a venue donated
by a local press association, with access to desks and computers. Once there,
they discuss story ideas, and work on group and individual reports, which are
then sent to a central desk in Dhaka to be edited and disseminated to various
websites and publications.
Child
journalists have produced more than 3000 individual reports and 1,252 group
reports, mainly focusing on issues relating to children and child rights. “We
know you should be above a certain age to work but there are many working
children who are very young and we know that that’s wrong,” says 15-year-old
MohammaedMahbubMorshed, also a child journalist in Sherpur. Mahbub says he
wants to write stories that will draw attention to the plight of poor working
children.
Children
Express journalists have had their work nationally recognised at award
ceremonies and have participated in several national and international forums,
including the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009.For many of the child
journalists, Children Express has not only helped them better understand their
rights but has given them an avenue to communicate their ideas.
“I
knew about child rights before but it was only after I joined Children Express
that I become confident enough to express myself,” says Queen, who now wants to
make the leap from a child journalist to a professional one.
