Chapter Information:

Facilitator: Bhavani Shankar Thapliyal (Shree Communications)

The Pauri chapter originated in the town of Sringar and is now starting to go into the villages around the town.

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General Information and News:

Pauri has a population density of 129. The literacy rate is 78%. The district has 1,755 primary schools, 468 junior high schools, 93 high schools and 164 Intermediate (classes 11&12) schools. The Garhwal University is in Pauri. Pauri is also the division head for the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

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Recent Activities:

July 2003: Members of the district visited the village of Suith, where they helped establish a village secretariat, discussed the problems the children there faced and then took these problems to the village Pradhan (headman). They discussed issues relating to education and the school infrastructure. Members of the Pauri secretariat also noted the presence of Parthenium, a weed that has become a menace to local flora, and plastic pollution around the village, even around the 2 ancient temples in the village. They discussed these issues with the children in the village who promised to address the issue.

May 2003: The Pauri chapter celebrated the first anniversary of the MCF with a two-day program at the government rest house in Pauri. The event was inaugurated by Pauri District Magistrate, Deepak Rai Vij, and two members of the MCF: Akanksha, and Deeksha. The children presented a slide show in Hindi and English that talked about why they wanted to establish the MCF and what they felt they could accomplish through it. The DM said their efforts would lend important strength to the government and urged them to work against child marriage and illiteracy. The children divided themselves into groups (which they named after Himalayan peaks) and discussed issues such as why girls are educated less than boys, the need for more and better teachers in their village schools, their environment, the future of tourism in their city. On the second day they discussed birth and death registration and visited the village of Khirsu and had a picnic at the park. About 400 children participated in this program.

November 2002: The Pauri Secretariat wanted to take the MCF message to the district offices and the Garhwal University headquarters. They held a drawing competition called "Imagining Srinagar" for all the schools of Srinagar. Twelve schools participated and the entries were judged not only by art teachers but also by the members of the secretariat, who proved to be the toughest judges. They also had a short cultural program and presented the MCF vision in both English and Hindi. As this was a much larger program than they had initially anticipated, the Pauri secretariat asked the Tehri secretariat to assist them in the planning which took place in the end of October. Ultimately, both the Tehri and Uttarkashi secretariats joined the Pauri secretariat in putting on the entire program, and with confidence and élan they carried the day.

Here too the secretariat asked for and received assistance from members of the community through contributions towards elaborate tent arrangements, snacks for the children (hot dosas), prizes for the art competition (shields and cups), lodging arrangements for the out-of-station children, and computer service assistance for their presentation. The Vice Chancellor of Garhwal University, Air Vice-Marshal K. Natrajan (Retd.), consented to be the chief guest.

One of the highlights of the evening was when the young presenter asked the Vice Chancellor's wife to collect her gift and Mrs. Natrajan demurred saying that since the Vice Chancellor had already been presented with a gift it would do for both of them. Our young presenter said "No, No ma'am you must have your own identity." Mrs. Natrajan, being a good sport, laughed and accepted her own gift.

Other MCF Chapters:
To visit the webpage of another chapter, please click on the links below:

Almora — Bageshwar — Chamoli — Champawat — Dehradun — Nainital
Pauri — Pithoragarh — Rudraprayag — Tehri — Uttarkashi

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