BALWANI is only a small part of a quiet revolution started by children in Lalitpur district, identified by the Planning Commission among the seven districts of Bundelkhand in southwest Uttar Pradesh. These are among the 100 most poor districts in India. It all started in November 2005 in Lalitpur’s Sunaura village. The village had one school with 102 children enrolled but it remained closed for at least half the month and when it was open, the teacher couldn’t keep awake.

The villagers decided to do something and 18 children led by the Children Council formed by Saarthi Foundation under the UNICEF’s Village Integrated Planning (Bal Bandhu Pariyojna), along with village elders, made a spirited demand before the Assistant Basic Shiksha Adhikari that a teacher be appointed in their school. Moved by the children’s plea, the ABSA promised a teacher would be appointed in their school by April 1 2006. Before April 1, the school got one.

This prompted a similar movement in Radhapur village where the school’s lone teacher was transferred without a replacement. One day they approached the sub-divisional magistrate of the area. The next day, a teacher was appointed in their school.

THE change is not all about schools. In Sunaura village, 13-year-old Usha’s father was getting her married to an already married 40-year-old. On December 2, the day of the wedding, the entire village stood up and warned the groom against marrying the girl. He beat a hasty retreat. This was unheard of in a region where the average marrying age for a girl is 15.

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