Balaknama: a Newspaper through which Street Kids tell their Stories

Newspaper brought out by working, street kids set to complete 10 years Little Naushad still remembers the day well. The day he ran down the narrow lanes of his jhuggi clutching a crumpled newspaper and shouting: "Mera naam chhapa hai humare akhbar mein (My name has been published in our newspaper)." 9-year-old

Naushad is among the 10,000-odd contributors of a unique newspaper - Balaknama - written and brought out by children from the streets or those working in factories. Many of them are ragpickers or help their parents in jobs like selling vegetables or working in households. Not all of them know how to read or write, yet they revel in being a part of the newspaper, possibly the first of its kind in the country, that will complete 10 years in July this year. "We started with a group of 35 street and working children in 2003. Now, there are more than 10,000 of us across India," recalls Subhash of the Delhi-based NGO Chetna that has brought the kids together and facilitates the publishing of the quarterly newspaper. Each kid pays Rs 5 per month - that goes into a corpus that helps in providing them basic education as well as in bringing out the newspaper. 

"The monthly contribution fee ensures that each child feels a sense of involvement. Even those children who are still learning to read and write insist that the stories in the paper are read out to them by others," says Subhash, himself a street kid who used to sell magazines at traffic intersections and fought his way out of destitution to complete his graduation in social work. The issues that find space in the paper are decided by the children themselves. Occasionally, there are poems contributed by them; sometimes there are profiles celebrating their achievements. But more often than not, the paper features discussions on issues like child marriage, police brutality on children and abuse faced by them on the streets. "All the discussions are done by the children.

 We felt it was important that they were exposed to the issues that affect them, and know what is right or wrong, as living on the streets or working in factories can easily distort their minds," says Subhash, even as some of the kids he has mentored nod in agreement. One of them is 19-year-old Shanno, who is the principal writer for the newspaper. She used to work in a dye factory since she was 12. Now, almost four years after being involved with the NGO's Badhte Kadam project, that facilitates education for street kids besides associating them with the newspaper, Shanno has given her Class XII exams through open schooling and become a prolific writer. She pens the newspaper's popular "Tota-maina" column - a kind of views and counter-views section. "I have written about the pros and cons of the government's decision to ban child labour this time," she says shyly pointing at the latest issue. Another star writer is 19-year-old Vijay, who used to work in a wood-carving unit in Delhi's Kirti Nagar. Now, like Shanno, he, too, has appeared for the Class XII exams and is bursting with ideas at the exposure that education and newspaper writing has provided him. Recently, at an ideation event organized by Microsoft India, he pitched a proposal to make their newspaper a monthly affair as well as a plan to start a local news channel that would be run by street children. Even though it was shortlisted, the proposal didn't make the final cut that could have given the children a funding and mentoring opportunity.

 This hasn't deterred the kids, though. "We'll make it happen some day for sure," says Vijay, his eyes shining brightly, the aspirations of thousands of children reflecting in them. Balaknama: a newspaper through which street kids tell their stories New Delhi: A unique newspaper called 'Balaknama' is brought out by street children. It publishes heart felt stories and editorials by children who work on the streets and in factories. Balaknama: a newspaper through which street kids tell their stories A unique newspaper called 'Balaknama' is brought out by street children. It publishes heart felt stories and editorials by children who work on the streets and in factories.

 Jyoti lives under a bridge at a bus stop in Delhi. A rag picker in the morning, she works as a journalist with the unique newspaper by street children during the day. After her photograph was published in 2012, she feels like a changed person.