Ramita, child champion and chairperson of municipal level child club network from Kalikot. Presently I am studying in grade 12 at Shree Mahadev Secondary School. I have a huge family of 11 including father , mother Amrita  with six siblings, a sister-in-law, and a baby nephew. My mother is a member of the executive committee in Subhakalika RM and my father is a farmer.  As a child, I was very shy and introverted. I did not have many friends because I did not express myself freely with anyone. I was only comfortable with my family. Everything changed in 2019 when I joined the adolescent girl’s group and child club of our ward (number 4) which was formed by Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Center (KIRDARC). I did receive so many training and capacity-building programs along with my other friends in the club. The training was mainly on child rights, protection issues, issues of violence against children, Chaaupadi (mal-practice of staying in the shed during a menstrual period), and anti-child marriage campaigns. We have successfully organized rallies on the reduction of child marriage, violence, child labor, and other issues. I took the lead of our adolescent girls group in conducting various activities such as intergenerational dialogue in our community where issues on menstrual taboos, nutrition, personal hygiene, and domestic violence were discussed.

Soon after a year, I got promoted as chairperson of the Palika level child club network and eventually became a child champion. Later in 2020 I received important training in Child Journalism and Media and got the opportunity to work as a child journalist. Applying the learnings of the training, I took interviews and wrote news on good initiation of the children on tree plantation for Community Information Network (CIN). As a child champion, I was provided with a tablet by the project to showcase videography on the impacts of Child marriage and a voice recorder to collect original audio voices of the community. I am advocating for the proper reporting mechanism for child marriage cases, violence-related issues, sharing the news with different stakeholders, and Community Information Network (CIN) via an online platform. I also participated in 5-days virtual training on life skills through this tablet. With the support and coordination with WCRC, police, KIRDARC, and the child club network, I was successful in stopping four child marriage cases formally. Our child club network also has conducted 16 days of activism regarding women’s violence. The bi-monthly meeting is conducted every month in Palika where work achievements, challenges/solutions, and action plans are developed accordingly. During the rise of the covid pandemic, our child club network conducted a door-to-door cleanliness and sanitation program to make people aware of safety measures and precautions against coronavirus. As a child champion and anti-marriage child campaigner, I have been advocating for the rights of the children, protection issues, the child marriage impact, and the Chaupadi system.

In the recent historical event in December 2021, three wards of Suvakalika Rural Municipality of Kalikot, wards number 6, 7, and 8 were declared Child Marriage Free Zone. I got a golden opportunity to express my gratitude and share the achievements of our work as I received a special invitation from Palika at these declaration events. In the event, I urged and encouraged my peers to increase their participation/leadership in the local level planning process like myself. I provided my recommendations that the strategies developed during the declaration should not be limited to paper only but also implemented well as it is our common responsibility to adhere to this declaration. I was the first young girl ever from Palika to receive such an invitation. I was obliged as it was a matter of great honor to me. I, along with my other fellow child champions and members of the Palika level child club network, was actively taking part in joint monitoring to make these declaration events successful. We provide our recommendations and ensure that the budget is well allocated in the sector of Children and Women. In the current year, Subhakalika RM has allocated the budget for NRs. Ten lakhs and sixty thousand ($8875.39) by ward in the children sector and established a child emergency fund from the same. Never had I thought that I would be the person that I am today. I feel very proud of how far I have come and what I have achieved so far that I cannot express in words. I have become so outspoken and my interpersonal communication skills have enhanced. If I were the same Ramita from three years ago facing you, I would have freaked out right now and probably ran away covering my face with my shawl. Even though I have been actively working in multi-positions right now, I want to keep continuing my studies together. Girls younger than my age get married early and regret it later in their lives. Boys younger than me go to India leaving their schools behind to earn money. Therefore, I want to pursue a career in Law and study Bachelor’s in Law (LLB) after completing my +2 as I dream of advocating for the rights of children, adolescents, women, people with disability, and other social issues. I want to be the voice of the unheard, poor and marginalized community about child rights and the impacts of child labor and early child marriage on their future, their dreams, and individual health. Presently there are 38 child champions like Ramita in different Palikas where KIRDARC is implementing the project. All of them have participated in Child Journalism training and also 10 child champions are provided mobile tablets along with preloaded multimedia content for awareness-raising and pre-installed virtual meeting platforms/apps. A Code of conduct is signed by each of them to use it wisely. The online safeguarding tool (Safe Kids of Kaspersky) is linked. Child champions, adolescent groups, and child club members are the heroes of the project. The project has equipped them with child journalism training, awareness-raising training as well as regular meetings. etc.