Children Leading Change

August 28, 2016

Voice 1 
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Robin Basselin.

Voice 2 
And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier
for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1 
When Shibashish Ghosh was young, he lived in a slum. This poor area of Calcutta, India
did not have permanent housing. Many people lived close together in dirty conditions.
The slum also smelled terrible. The smell came from a garbage dump next to the slum.
Cities from around the area brought their unwanted waste to this dump. Ghosh told PRI’s
The World,

Voice 3 
“The smell from the garbage was so strong that it hung in the air. It took away people’s
desire to eat.”

Voice 2 
Ghosh wanted to change these conditions. So, he and other young friends decided to
work with the not for profit organization Prayasam.  Prayasam helped Ghosh and his
friends develop a plan. Together they organized events to spread information about the
problem. They asked a famous singer to write a song. The singer and children performed
the song at the dump. Newspapers wrote about the children and their efforts. Finally, the
city moved the garbage dump. Now the area is clean. And it is a park for children to play
in.

Voice 1 
Ghosh and his friends worked to produce this amazing result! But they did not work
alone. Today’s Spotlight is on Prayasam. This organization helps children work for a
better life in the slums of Calcutta.

Voice 2 
Amlan Ganguly is the founder and leader of Prayasam. However, he used to work as a
lawyer in the Calcutta courts. As a legal worker, he saw a lot of injustice. He recognized
that often poor people did not have an equal chance for success. This unequal treatment
angered him.

Voice 1 
So, Ganguly made a major decision. He decided to stop working as a lawyer. Instead, he
began working to improve the lives of people living in the Calcutta slums. Ganguly began
by working with adults living in the slums. He wanted to help educate them about public
health issues.  But he found this work difficult.

Voice 2 
For example, he tried to talk to adults about ways to stop the spread of disease. But
many of the adults did not to listen to him. They were busy trying to survive. They did not
have a lot of time. And they did not think that they could help themselves. Gangualy told
Wired magazine,

Voice 4 
“Adults are not hopeful. They are not willing to believe in change.”

Voice 1 
But Ganguly did see hope in the situation. He noticed that when he talked with adults,
there were often children around. And he noticed they were listening. Ganguly believed
that these children were more hopeful. They believed change was possible. And they
believed they could make life better in their communities.

Voice 2 
So, in 1999, Ganguly and a few friends started Prayasam. Prayasam means “their own
endeavour” or “their own efforts.” This name communicates the organization’s purpose.
Prayasam wants to support children in their efforts to lead change in their communities.

Voice 1 
Prayasam workers are adults. But their goal is not to fix childrens’ problems for them.
Instead, their goal is to guide the children through the problem solving process. At
Prayasam, the children decide what projects a community needs. Adult workers help the
children consider different resources and ways to solve a problem. But, the children
choose their own solutions.  And they work to make the solutions succeed!

Voice 2 
Prayasam’s method is very unusual. But the children involved with Prayasam have
achieved very good results. And people have begun to notice. Many of Prayasam’s
projects and child leaders have been recognized for their excellent work. And in 2013,
two film makers released a film about Prayasam and its work.

Voice 1 
Nicole Newnham and Maren Grainger-Monson directed the film. They called it
“Revolutionary Optimists.” This film tells the stories of Amlan Ganguly and six different
Prayasam children leaders.

Voice 2 
Two children the film concentrates on are Salim and his friend Shikha. Salim and Shikha
have worked with Prayasam to make many changes in their community. One example is
vaccines. These medicines protect children against deadly, infectious diseases. But less
than half of the children in their area had received vaccines. There were many reasons
for this problem. Some parents could not bring their children because they had to work.
Others did not understand how vaccines could help.

Voice 1 
So, Salim and Shikha decided to educate their communities about vaccines. When it is
time for vaccinations, Salim and Shikha visit each house telling people what day to come.
They explain to people how the vaccines can help. They also offer to take children to the
place where vaccines are given. This helps parents who cannot take their children
because of work. Salim and Shikha’s work has made a major difference. Now, 95% of
children in their community have been vaccinated!

Voice 2 
Salim and Shikha have also worked with Prayasam to create a safe sports program. This
program is a football competition. Teams from four of Calcutta’s slums play in the
competition. And there is something very different about this football program. In India, it
is common to see boys playing football. But it is not common to see girls playing. Salim
and Shikha wanted to show the communities that girls could play sports too. So they
made sure that the competition involved both girls and boys.

Voice 1 
Salim and Shikha are also a part of another major community project. They are working
to bring clean, drinking water into their community. Right now, the only water they have is
yellow and dirty. They can use this water to clean. But it is not safe to drink. Salim and
Shikha have worked with Ganguly and Prayasam to think of ways to address the
problem. Together they created a survey. They asked the adults in their area questions
about water and they collected their answers. They also created a map of their
community. The map showed where people lived. It showed each water supply and it
described what kind of water was there. Now, Salim and Shikha are using these
resources to persuade government leaders that change is necessary.

Voice 2 
Salim and Shikha have done amazing work with Prayasam. And they are only two
examples of the hundreds of children Prayasam has helped. The work of Prayasam is
creating positive social change today. It is also creating strong leaders for tomorrow. And
Shikha is an example of one of these leaders. She told the filmmakers of “Revolutionary
Optimists,”

Voice 5 
“I have been told that everything that happens in life is our fate or luck. But, we cannot
just depend on fate. If I do something good or something bad, that is what affects my
luck. So, we should forget about fate. As much as we can, we should give our own
effort.”

Voice 1 
The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Mark Drenth. The
voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program
and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet
at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, “Children Leading Change.”
Voice 2 
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Question:
Who do you think should make decisions for a community?