Videos -Children and Change

MAHITA a Social Development Organization, has taken a initiative to work with the girl children to build their capacities through training them in Video Documentation Skills to present their issues to the community, and address them through building awareness among the communities. We have started the training involving, 23 girls initially, who have been technically trained in handling cameras, computers and life skills. Initially it took lot of efforts to bring these girl to the training as these girls are from the Muslim communities, where mobility of the girls is an issues. however our constant efforts and interaction with the parents and community provided us an opportunity to work with them and empower these girls through video skills. In the mean process we have provided them adequate resources such as life skill trainings, orientation on the issues, child rights, career counseling, facilitated them to continue their education and many more things to empower them.

In the due course of time these girls have independently handled the cameras and produced their own community videos, which are very effectively communicated the message and prevailing situation of the children in their communities. Community film screening has been taken as a wider strategy to create awareness among the communities on the issues.

Currently these girls have become an potential source for presenting the issues of the communities, and they have also transformed as trainers for the other children in producing the films. Recently two of them were provided with advanced training by UNICEF and Children as Media Producers Program to produce films for UNICEF Children Film festival. 9 Films have been produced by these children and they have sent to the UNICEF Film Festival.

Nitin