Follow Up - Workshop Report

The One Day follow-up workshop on the Right to Information Act was organized by SEAD at Pipaya (Lakhsyar) in block Kalsi, district Dehradun on 15th November, 2009. 138 children from 10 villages participated in the workshop. The workshop was also attended by the Gram Pradhan, anganvadi workers, volunteers and members of the village community.

Bal Panchayat children Rohit Tomar, Preeti Nautiyal, Kapil Nautiyal and Rahul, who had represented their baal panchayats at the state level workshop in Dehradun, shared their experiences with the community. The gathering was also informed that the baal panchayats had filed 25 applications during the year long campaign.

The Bal Panchayat children staged a role play in which they showed the changes they had brought about in their lives ever since they learnt about the RTI Act in the first workshop.

Three Baal Panchayats, namely,Sri Gurudev in Munshi, Keshari Chandra in Luharana and Meerabai Sangthan in Lohari come under Mr Hukum Das’s (Village Pradhan) Gramsabha. He said the gram sabha would reward the bal panchayat for doing the best for the Gram sabha. He also assured the children of his support.

Furhter the Baal Panchayat children decided that they would organize RTI workshops in their own villages and involve the members of the village, like women, men and the youth.

The effect of the awareness campaign can be clearly guaged by the comment of an anganwadi workers who said that she had not know about the RTI Act till the children of the baal panchayat had become involved in it.

Back

Dwarika Prasad Nauni
State Coordinator (RTI)
Mountain Children’s Foundation
63-A, Vyom Prasth GMS Road
Dehradun, Uttarakhand.