Nanhi Chopals in Ambala villages to motivate kids

Nitish Sharma

The Zila Yuva Vikas Sangathan, an NGO, is forming Nanhi Chopals in villages of Ambala in order to make children confident and aware about their rights and duties. 

The NGO has been running many projects, including the childline in Ambala, since 2011. The childline is a project of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

A Nanhi Chopal comprising 50 children from Class VI to XII has been formed in Sonda village. Simmi, a girl student, is its sarpanch and there are five panches, including a boy. The team of sarpanch and panches will change every three months so that all children get a chance to show their skills. The first chopal was formed on January 3 and its meeting is held every Sunday. 

The NGO motivates children to come forward and share their problems with the sarpanch and the panches of the Nanhi Chopal, who will further discuss their issues with the childline. The NGO has set a target of forming 50 chopals in Ambala in the first phase.

Dr Pratibha Singh, Director, Child line Ambala, who started the Nanhi Chopal programme, says, “We get numerous calls for help on the helpline. Children, who are aware, tell their problems but there are a large number of them who are not so aware and do not tell about their problems. Besides, during visits to schools it was observed that children were not aware about a good touch and a bad touch, and many of them facing other issues were hesitating from telling their problems”.

“During a visit to a school, we taught children about a good touch and a bad touch. Meanwhile, a minor girl told us that a person had been touching her inappropriately for sometime but she did not know whether it was right or wrong. She had never informed anyone about it. After the seminar, she informed her family about it. So, we decided to run the Nanhi Chopal programme where children will share their issues and motivate other children also,” she adds.

“Children will hold a meeting every Sunday in which they will share their ideas and issues. They are given a topic to express their views. They are asked about the sanitary conditions in their villages, other local issues and the problems they have been facing at their schools, homes or localities,” she says.

The NGO plans to run a ‘Sanskarshala’ along with the Nanhi Chopal project to also teach children about the Indian culture. The children are being taught about the work done by various departments — judiciary, Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Soon, boards having the contact details of various departments will be installed so that children can contact these in case of an emergency or other problems.  

Pratibha says, “Village children do not get much exposure. The project will help them to express their views. Soon, we will try to link these children with the sarpanches and panches of their villages and municipal councillors in the city so that they can learn about how these people work. Another Nanhi Chopal will be formed in Mokhamajra village soon. An NGO in Alipur village has shown interest in setting up a chopal”.