Date:13/04/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/04/13/stories/2004041301341700.htm

Back `Balasabhas intended for less affluent kids'

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , April 12

THE `balasabha' or children's group is an innovative attempt by the Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission or Kudumbashree to ensure the overall development of children from less affluent families, according to Mr T.K. Jose, Executive Director, Kudumbashree.

These groups are intended to facilitate the educational improvement of the children who are members, while also providing them with a forum for cultural and developmental activities, he added.

Each `balasabha' - there are over 7,600 of them across the State - comprises around 25 children in the 5-15 age group and is an offshoot of the neighbourhood groups formed under the aegis of the Kudumbashree initiative.

Each group, which has a leader and assistant leader, meets every week for a couple of hours, during which various activities are pursued.

The `balasabhas' are structured in such a fashion as to make them ideal for informal learning, said Mr Jose.

Besides assisting in remedial education activities, the children's groups also help in capacity building, encouragement of the creative potential of members, development of entrepreneurial skills of members and so on.

More importantly, some of these `balasabhas' have organised innovative initiatives such as libraries for children and health programmes.