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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A copy of the Tamil version of
this inspiring and educational documentary is available FREE to developmental
organisations, institutions and individuals which/who can put the film to the
most effective non-profit, educational and awareness building use. Read more about this film
below and REPLY to the questions below
immediately if you think you can make use of this film effectively.
*********************************
********************************* As only limited FREE copies
are available, organisations/institutions/individuals who can put the film to
the most effective non-profit use in promoting child participation and
childrens rights (as evident from their answers above) will be favoured to
receive the FREE copies. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Background to the Film
In October 2003, TVE International collaborated with the UNICEF
ROSA office to produce this 21 min TV programme showcasing four case studies of
children's right to expression or "child participation". This
programme -called "Listen to the Children" - was filmed in four South
Asian countries: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The completed programme was broadcast on BBC World as part of TVE
International's "Life" series, in January this year (see Lifeonline) Subsequent to the broadcast, the English programme has been
versioned into 13 South Asian languages by TVE Asia Pacific's partner
organisations in the 8 South Asian countries.
Trust HELP (www.trusthelp.org),
the Video Resource Centre designate of TVE (www.tve.org)
based at Chennai, has versioned this film into Tamil Language.
Funding for the versioning and distribution of the programme was received
from UNICEF ROSA who are keen that this programme's message be taken across to
children in all parts of South Asia. About the Film
Length
:
21 min Language
:
Tamil version Director
and Producer
:
Di Tatham Production
Co.
:
TVE International Tamil
Language Versioning:
Video Resource Centre Trust HELP One in five of the worlds
population is aged between 12 and 18. In developing countries, where the
percentage is much higher, children and young people often carry a huge burden
of responsibility at work and in the home. Yet despite this, rarely are their
voices heard and their views taken into account. The film travels from post-conflict Sri Lanka to the back-streets
of New Delhi to talk to children involved in the street childrens council, in adolescent education in Bangladesh, and in fighting
discrimination against HIV/AIDS sufferers in Nepal. NEW DELHI The first child we meet is Deepak, aged 14, in Delhi. Hes one of 50,000 street children in a city of 10 million. Many
sleep rough wherever they can. Their working day starts at 5.30am. Most survive
by recycling rubbish, seven days a week. Deepak helps produce a newspaper: Whatever our dreams we will print them and well show the world. I know we are poor but weve also got rights and those rights should be given to us. Thats why our Childs Paper is working we, the children have made it.
Deepak and his friends boys regularly use a night shelter run by
Butterflies, near the Red Fort. The organisation also provides informal
education, counselling, media and theatre training, and encourages them to speak
out about their ideas and their opinions. Butterflies also runs an informal school for children who live
near the railway tracks. And the children also have a monthly council meeting to
discuss their problems and ideas. Deepak explains: If a child has a problem he tells all the other children about
it. Hes helped by all the
children and the facilitators to find a solution. The meetings are conducted by
the kids and its for the kids.
Earning enough every day is essential for these children to
survive, and keeping their hard won cash is another problem for Deepak and the
boys. But once again these street children have come up with their own solution
- a Childrens Bank. The money we earn if we dont
spend it and we keep it in our pockets - bad men and big boys catch us and rob
us. Say tomorrow if we get sick, or we need anything like clothes and the moneys gone, then we have to earn it again. Thats why weve opened up this bank. The boys are now taking their idea of the Childrens Bank to other states in India. NEPAL Next Life travels to the Terai Plains of Nepal to meet
17-year-old Sita, who is a SOVAA
a Social Volunteer against Aids. I felt that people,
especially women, needed to know more about HIV and AIDS, so I felt I could
contribute. India is close by and drugs are the main problem using different types of drugs and sharing the same needles. If
one person gets infected others may become infected.
Being a SOVAA means
breaking rules. It means talking about sex, talking about HIV and AIDS, about
why young people are vulnerable to infection. Sitas parents objected at
first, but then her mother realised that she was doing good. Shanti, from a nearby village, explains how Sita helped her: My husband died and although I was guarding my reputation, I was
raped and they took away my honour and then I was compelled to go away with him
and I went to a foreign country. After I came back home, I found I had HIV. But
I didnt know what it was, what
the word means. Sita knows the facts she helped me understand. There was plenty of prejudice to overcome, especially from the
young men: In the past if we girls
talked about HIV and AIDS with the boys, even though we used to talk to them as
friends they used to say Oh my, arent you ashamed talking like that? Youre advertising condoms so you must have HIV. Now as SOVAAs, Sita and her friends are starting to win the right
to be heard. They are becoming the agents of change in their rural communities,
and people are listening. SRI LANKA Seventeen-year-old Ehalingham lives in Sivanteevu, a tiny Tamil
village almost surrounded by water on the east coast of Sri Lanka.
Hes one of 85
children determined to breathe life into their war-torn village. Many of the
children living here have lost relatives. Education has been one of the major casualties in the conflict.
In Sivanteevu, many children are now working in the only industry left, instead
of attending school. With the help of the Eastern Self-reliance Community Organisation
(ESCO), Ehalingham and his friends set up a club, with the aim of expanding the
tiny school to accommodate older students. They lobbied local authorities and
rallied parents. Three years on, over 400 extra students are benefiting from the
new school-room. The club building is a vital focal point for the children of
Sivanteevu. But Tharshini, a founding member of the project when she was just
15, says at first they werent taken seriously. In the beginning there wasnt
much co-operation from the parents. The other thing was that people who watched
us thought it was wrong that boys and girls played together. They didnt believe that children could do this type of job. Now they have
confidence in us. BANGLADESH Finally, in rural Bangladesh, we meet Shati.
Shatis
16 and lives in Akua, near Tangail. Unlike many young teenage girls, Shatis continuing her education, and shes earning money.
I wanted to study science but they wanted to send me to the
religious school. I wanted to do something but they said Youre a girl you cant do anything And they didnt value my opinions.
Joining the Adolescent Girls Programme at the Centre for Mass
Education and Science changed Shatis
life. Encouraged to value herself and her abilities, she decided to learn
photography. She faced opposition from her parents and the conservative
community. Her mother says: In this community it is
really difficult for girls to study, it is our societys rules. When I sent Shati to school, some boys tried to stop us.
They took the books and they threw stones. When the village elders met, even
they tried to stop her. As well as taking
pictures, Shati campaigns for other girls to follow in her footsteps and not get
married off at 14 or 15. She argues with Farida, a woman who wants to marry off
her daughter: Oh no, you know you told me you liked the fact that I go to
school and I take pictures with my camera. Dont you want your Muni to do the
same as me. Why do you say things like that? Is she 18 yet? Isnt she 14?
Dont you know that if you get married at a young age, you face many
problems? And her mother now supports her, because the family values the
money that Shati earns through her photography. And even the principal of the local religious school now supports
her. We have to tell the people
of the village that they shouldnt marry their sons and
daughters off at a very early age. They can earn money if you allow them to
become educated and this is beneficial in many different ways and itll build up the country. These girls can earn a lot of money.
Read the full transcript of the film at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1418 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For more information, contact: Dr. P Muthu TRUST HELP
Plot No 459, Freedom Road, Viduthalai Nagar, Chennai - 600117 Tel: (91 44) 2246 1314
Fax: (91 44) 2246 1312
Production of this upgraded website has been possible with support byTVE Asia Pacific
with funding from
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comments about this website to Webmaster Dr P Muthu
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