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Sector: Balavihar (Child Enrichment Program)
Starting a Balavihar was a difficult task for
Krishnaji and Sudeshji in the tribal village of
Moli. The two CORD workers thought children and
their parents would be excited about the chance
to gather and learn, but this was not the case.
E ach
and every month was a struggle to bring the
children together. They even went door to door
to encourage them to attend the program. But the
children and their parents did not see the
importance of Balavihar and felt no need to send
their children.
But this did not stop Krishnaji and Sudeshji.
They believed in the benefits of Balavihar and
knew that if parents were aware of the same,
they would be willing to send their children.
This free program offers the children a moral
education that includes good values and
practical skills. They learn how to do japa,
yoga, sing bhajans, perform skits, and play
games. During the monthly meetings, the students
discuss issues that are important to them like
keeping their village clean, hygiene, health,
and the effects of alcohol. They learn how to
bring up issues like alcohol with their parents
and relatives. For example, the children ask
their parents to calculate how much money they
spend on alcohol each year (known as a
socioeconomic audit). They also question their
parents on the effects that alcohol has on
social relationships (known as a social audit).
When children discuss these serious issues, it
has a powerful effect on their parents. Because
they felt so
 strongly
about the program, Krishnaji and Sudheshji never
gave up and worked tirelessly. The villagers of
Moli became familiar with their faces and
finally started to listen to them. Soon children
were asking their parents to go to Balavihar.
Krishnaji and Sudeshji wanted the children to
take ownership of Balavihar. They had the
children elect a Balavihar Pradhan (President)
who would lead the other children in their
activities. Ramandeep, the current Balavihar
Pradhan, takes his job very seriously. He
encourages the other students to keep smiling
and to enthusiastically participate in all the
activities. Eleven year old Ramandeep always
finds an opportunity to help others despite his
situation at home. Often having to dedicate time
to help his single mother care for the h ousehold,
Ramandeep still makes his Balavihar education a
priority. At the beginning of every class, he
leads the students in cleaning the meeting place
and in performing arati. Ramandeep motivates the
youth in his village and encourages them to
excel in their lives. Krishnaji and Sudeshji
know they can count on Ramandeep.
At Balavihar, children learned the meaning of
festivals they celebrated like Lodi and Holi.
Now aware of festivals in their village, they
prepared programs and actively participated in
the celebrations. The villagers were very happy
to see a change take place in the children as a
result of Balavihar. In fact, the children
reinvigorated the villagers’ interest and
participation in celebrating these festivals.
During Children’s Day on the 14th of November,
the Balavihar children took the initiative to
make speeches and dances. The same kids who only
wanted to play and run around were encouraging
their friends to join Balavihar.
The children became resources for the community
and were willing to help with all types of
projects for the betterment of their village.
Whenever work needed to be done, people would go
to the children for their help.
The villagers of Moli did not always take care
of the bowrie (natural water source) in their
village. Many times it would be full of stones
and overgrown plants and weeds. No one took the
initiative to clean it and
 maintain
it, despite the villagers’ reliance on it. The
clean bowrie water that the villagers could
directly drink from was now full of garbage and
sediments. Having a bowrie in the village was a
blessing because the villagers did not have to
walk very far every morning to fill their jugs
and clay pots with water. But now the bowrie was
useless and falling apart before their eyes.
Seeing the need for maintenance, Krishnaji and
Sudeshji gathered the Balavihar students to
clean the bowrie. Excited at the prospect of
being able to contribute to the village, the
students made a trip to the bowrie one day after
Balavihar class. By hand, they picked the
overgrown weeds and fished out the garbage. The
Balavihar students removed sediments lying at
the bottom of the bowrie and picked up rocks
blocking the flow of water. After cleaning the
bowrie, they were determined to do whatever it
took to maintain it so they could always have
clean water in their village. The children have
become resources for the community and at such a
young age they understand the needs of their
village.
The Balavihar program has given the children of
Moli a moral foundation so that they can be
good, responsible citizens of their village.
They have learned to carry their heads high and
deal with any obstacles that may come. The
children now understand that a moral education
can be practical too.
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