Catch ‘em young, seems to be the principle driving Samskar, an NGO-based in Varni mandal of Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh. Motivating children to cleanse their communities of unhealthy habits. “Children not only have unflagging zeal but sagacity.

We need to recognize and encourage children into social action programmes,” says Dr  K.H.S.S. Sundar, Project Director of Samskar, an NGO that is supported in its activities by Plan International.

Changing beliefs

This belief in children’s ability in bringing about change in their communities has been proved again and again by Samskar’s child activists. One of their greatest successes is the radio programme ‘Allari Mucchatlu’ or mischievous conversation.

The only one of its kind in AP, the one-hour weekly programme is produced by the children and broadcast every Sunday at 8.30 am.

The children write, record and produce the programme. As Udayshankar, AIR Programme Head of Nizamabad FM station says, “it is difficult to produce a one-hour long programme because it has to sustain the listeners’ attention. But ‘Allari Mucchatlu’ does it every week. We get four to five letters in response to it every week which is a very good response,” he said.

Come Sunday, beedi-rolling women, men and children from at least 76 villages in Nizamabad district, where Samskar has started children’s clubs, gather around transistors, to listen to  children.

The programme has songs, poems, quiz, skits and jokes. Skits and talks are message-oriented covering a wide range of problems and issues of the community. K Anil Kumar (12) of Chikkad Pally village who has participated in three programes says,  “Earlier when anyone in our family had fever or fell ill, our mother would get an amulet for us. Now after listening to ‘Allari Mucchatlu’, she takes us to the health centre as at Rudrur.” Samskar set up Balaseva Sanghas in 76 villages of Varni mandal to mobilize, motivate Dalit children. Now children from other castes have joined them.

Early days

Recalling the beginnings of ‘Allari Mucchatlu’, J Suryakanth, Children’s Programme Supervisor of Samskar said initially AIR staff produced the programme. But it was irregular and broadcast at the convenience of the radio station. Then the seed for a regular programme produced by the BSS members was sown.

A group of children were taken to Delhi and trained in radio programming for a week. Asked what he learnt during the training, Lalbi of Varni recounted: “A radio programme should have information. It should talk about people who inspire the community. Facts are important. There should be clarity in both thought and expression.

Language should be easy to understand and voice should convey emotion since face is not seen on radio.”
Nizamabad AIR chipped in by training the children in voice modulation, speaking  for radio. Samskar bought tape recorders, AIR provided cassettes.

The children record the programme in their village by turn. The cassettes are converted into CDs at Samskar office in Varni by staff trained in the use of Sound Forge, a software to record, analyse and edit audio recordings.

The CDs are sent to Nizamabad a week ahead of the broadcast day. Supported by Plan International, Samskar has contracted AIR for one year, paying Rs 3,000 per hour every week. Last year, the Samskar children made 50 episodes of ‘Allari Mucchatlu’. Samskar makes sure that every BSS gets a chance to do the radio programme.

Says Suryakanth, “the BSS is selected both on issues of priority and preparedness of children.” Initially, parents in Ghanpur village did not allow girls to participate. So the BSS members connected radio to the loudspeakers and the entire village got to hear ‘Allari Mucchatlu’.

Those who were earlier hesitant to allow their daughters to practice at the village sent them to Nizamabad. The radio programme has been one of the forces of change in the villages.

As for the radio programmers, with each programme they seem to be getting better.  These children are literally riding waves, of sound and of popularity.