Life Skills for children

GAMANA, with the help of SHGs, formed Bala Panchayats (Children’s Parliament) in 5 schools. The formation of the democratically elected Bala Panchayats stimulated girls’ participation in matters related to their growth and development so as to build confidence, leadership and self-esteem. 457 girls are thus equipped with 10 life skills in line with SDGs through participation in the Bala Panchayats.

Children and young people often represent over 40% of the society in which they live, yet they have traditionally been excluded from decision-making all over the world. GAMANA reversed this trend by forming Bala Panchayats (Children’s parliament). This has been done in the true spirit of the UN Convention on Child Rights to empower children to bring about changes in their own lives and to build a better future.

According to the Child rights convention, children have the right to freedom of expression to form and join associations and to seek and receive appropriate information. There is a need to work closely with children to make sure that they have the right to survival; to full development, to protect from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

The objective of a Bala Panchayats is to encourage child participation in matters relevant to their growth and development, not only as individuals but also as a group, which aspires towards a better and happier society.

The motivation for developing participation comes from the growing emphasis on child rights and good community development practices that enable people to address their own problems. This encouragement of strengths enables hidden leadership qualities to emerge and the existing talents to become more polished.

The concept of Bala Panchayats enhances child participation and boosts the confidence and self-esteem of girls. In the traditional social and cultural framework, girls grow up with pre-set gender roles in their mind and develop a demeanor in compliance with these expectations. Therefore it is a big achievement for these girls to stand up and speak with confidence in a male dominated society. In Bala Panchayats, members are all girls elected through open democratic processes in the village. There are lots of activities that the Bala Panchayat members conduct with special encouragement from teachers.