Story link: http://www.goodnewsindia.com/index.php/sieve/article/children-reporters-of-koraput-orissa

An year old experiment to increase the awareness of children about social issues is now slowly spreading in Orissa. The idea was to turn them loose outside classrooms to observe and report on events and issues. For children of Ankur, a village in Koraput district of Orissa, the school used to be a pigeon-hole but now their village is their school. No longer do they walk past an accident, a broken pipe or accumulating dirt. They whip out their diaries and make an entry. Best reports are printed in the monthly newsletter ‘Ankurodgam’ and circulated among NGOs and decision makers.

The project was conceived under the Advocacy and Partnership programme of UNICEF in 2005. Begun with 100 reporters from 10 schools, there are today 1,500 child reporters in 286 schools. And they have their own blog now. Here’s a news report on the programme. You can mail and cheer them at