“I can drive change!” If this is the zeal of Samreen, an eleventh standard school girl from the Mankhurd Suburb of Mumbai, then can environmental changes be far behind? Samreen describes herself as ‘someone who loves to learn new things.’ ‘I want to be aazaad (free), I don’t want to just be someone who goes to school and comes back home. I can drive change, and work with other children and young people for a better community, a better society’, she says, and she has reason to be both proud of what they have accomplished so far and excited for what lies ahead.

When she was growing up, Samreen found her colony to be quite unsafe. It was a space where girls were frequently catcalled, and drug abuse was rampant. ‘There were lesser street lights, so it was unsafe to step out once it started getting dark’, she says. Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) showed her the spirit of freedom with responsibility. YUVA, a non-profit development organisation set up in 1984 in Mumbai is committed to empowering marginalised groups. Over the years, in addition to building strong networks at the grassroots level, and encouraging people to access rights and basic services (such as the right to secure housing, clean water etc.), YUVA has engaged in advocacy and policy recommendations for inclusive development. YUVA is currently present at locations across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and New Delhi. 

Since YUVA believes in self-determined and sustained collective action by communities for change, the organisation and Samreen’s vision were aligned from the beginning. This happened about five years ago, when Samreen started visiting YUVA’s Child Resource Centre at Lallubhai Compound. As she started attending different sessions at the centre organised by YUVA, she began to meet and interact more freely with other children and young people in the area, and got access to more knowledge and support. ‘I started understanding my basic rights, the rights of children, and got access to life skill training’, she says. Once Samreen’s involvement grew, she also joined Bal Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan, a children’s collective facilitated by YUVA. BASS is a child-led entity which works to help children from the community access their rights. 

Fig 1: Children’s participation in street plays helps them engage with city audiences creatively

Over the years, the collective has kept taking on different initiatives to ensure a better future for children. For instance, BASS conducted a survey in 2016 on the needs of children in Lallubhai Compound, who stated that they required a playground, a library, a safe route to go to school instead of the risky route of crossing the railway line, etc. The children’s memorandum was submitted to decision makers, and they followed up over the next few months. ‘We participated in rallies, sticker campaigns, performed street plays, and kept taking our message to more people. Gradually, more people started supporting us – both our needs, as well as lending us a space for meetings, helping us reach more people, and so on’, she says.  

Within a few years of being a committed changemaker, Samreen and her friends have been able to drive change. A former playground that was filled with waste and dumped with garbage was cleaned and the children were able to access it for play. More lights have now been set up in the colony, and police patrolling has increased, helping girls feel safer. Also, the Mankhurd bridge has been constructed and children no longer need to cross the railway line to go to school. Waste collection in the community has also been more regularised. Such is the magic of children rising to claim their rights and responsibilities. 

Samreen is currently also a member of the Child Protection Committee of ward 142 in Mumbai Suburban. Mandated as per a Maharashtra Government Resolution of 2014, the Committee comprises diverse stakeholders such as a representative from a non-profit, anganwadi, health department, ward corporator, and others. The Child Protection Committee is an important unit of local self-governance, to prevent child abuse and violence. Samreen is hopeful of what the Committee can accomplish over the coming months, to make their community and city a safer and more enabling space for all. Even during the COVID-19 induced lockdown across 2020, Samreen and other children and young people kept reaching out to other children in the community, checking in on them and organising activities and knowledge sessions, spreading awareness about COVID-19. 

YUVA also organised a webinar on Child Protection during the lockdown. This was attended by key stakeholders from the community and the government. They not only shared the challenges and ways to work together for effective child protection but also encouraged many others like Samreen to be future changemakers. There are other campaigns too that YUVA has actively taken forward with the support of children in the past few months, such as the ‘My Ward My CPC Campaign’ by YUVA and BASS in November 2020. As a part of this campaign, children demanded the formation of functional Child Protection Committees in every ward of the city. The campaign’s early success can be gauged by how the District Collector of Mumbai Suburban, Mr. Milind Borikar, not only accepted their demands but declared that by the end of the year, all Child Protection Committees should be formed and activated in the city.

YUVA has been acknowledged by GlobalGiving, the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects non-profits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world, for the great work it has done in the past. Amongst multiple areas of its work, YUVA’s commitment to child rights and protection remains strong. The children are constantly sensitised about the importance of education in their formative years and they actively participate in discussions on safeguarding their rights. 

As a non-profit committed to people’s empowerment, YUVA has adopted multiple strategies and approaches to promote people-led inclusive development, and facilitated the growth of supportive community-based organisations and networks. YUVA remains committed towards building equal partnerships in the development process. The organisation constantly strives to ensure the fulfilment of the human right to live with security, dignity and peace.