Children's video cleans wells and gets kids back to school

Children’s video is generating solutions to real problems in Tanzania. Sauti Ya Watoto (Children’s Voice) develops communication between children, parents, teachers, leaders and the whole community, and enables children to make a real difference.

The children express their ideas by producing a Video Magazine. They participate in the on-camera discussions with community and leaders and help to identify solutions to problems. Here are two recent examples of the progress since Plan helped to set it up in 2000.

On one video, children showed how unprotected wells allowed pollutants and dirt to flow into a well. During the discussion, the community agreed to build edges around the wells to prevent pollutants flowing in. “It is a shame that we have lived here for so many years and did not recognize that these shallow wells contribute to the outbreak of diarrhea and cholera”, said one interviewee in Homboza village in Kisarawe. 

When the Geita District Commissioner watched the interview of a mother who hadn’t bought her son a school uniform or sent him back to school after the father ran away, the Commissioner issued a directive. “It is a sin to deny a child an education because of the parents’ separation, please make a follow up and see that Tofili is sent back to school immediately”. Tofili, 13 years old, is now enjoying his right to get education. He is in standard five at Kalangalala Primary School in Geita Program Unit.