News Item 013-印度街头儿童编撰报纸
News Item 013-印度街头儿童编撰报纸
From poverty to child labor, underage marriages, sexual abuse and drugs—there is no shortage of topics for Balaknama. “When reports arrive and the team sits down to select the story, lots of fights break out. They argue this story will have more impact than that story. So there’s a lot of debates before the final selection goes to print.” The newspaper has 70 reporters in several states, 14 of them reporting regularly from the capital.
All of the writers, editors and managers are homeless children. “I used to beg, do drugs and sometimes go rag（破烂）picking. Then I learnt about Balaknama and began to work for it. First I was a junior reporter, then a reporter and now I’m all set to become the editor.” Many of the children have jobless and illiterate（不识字的）parents. As budding（初获成功的）reporters they now earn money and many are enrolled in distance learning programs that may help advance their careers. “What I couldn’t do, at least my daughter is doing. She’s helping others and she’s also helping us.” The monthly eight-page newspaper began in
2002 as a quarterly（季刊）. It has changed the lives of the children who publish it and aims at improving the livelihood of thousands of others. It is supported by NGOs and charity groups.