Atul Kumar, District Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh
My journey began in 2005 when I was just 8 years old. With the aim of bringing out-of-school children into the mainstream education, PACE started a bridge course center in our village and formed a Child Rights Forum. Through this forum, I learned about child rights, the importance of education, and participation. In 2015, a youth network was formed in collaboration with TDH and Dachser, where I got the opportunity to work as a youth volunteer.
We focused on identifying problems and possible solutions through social mapping and microplanning, and presented them to the families in the villages. We collected seeds of shady and medicinal plants, created nurseries, and conducted a tree planting campaign on vacant land in the village. We also organized street plays and awareness activities to educate the village community on issues such as the environment, health, education, and social equality.
In 2017, I was selected for the TDH and Dachser (Germany) Youth Exchange Program and had the opportunity to travel to Germany, where I, along with four other youth, shared my experiences about how we raise awareness about the environment, education, inequality, and other social issues. This journey over the last two decades has transformed my life and given me a strong sense of purpose and responsibility to society. Today, I am a Panchayat Assistant in my village, Hariharpur, and contributing to its development.
(TERRE DES HOMMES works to protect the health, hygiene, education, safety, justice, and dignity of children. Through its initiatives, the organisation has improved the lives of many children. As it marks 50 years of supporting children’s rights in India, the above case story reflects the meaningful change its work has created.)
