India's Slumdog Press
The youth of the Delhi slums become citizen-journalists
In the slums of Delhi, a group of street children are making their voices heard by reporting the news. They write, edit and publish their own newspaper, which is now being read across the world.
"People in India treat these kids as if they are insects", says 17-year-old Shambhu, the editor of a very unusual paper in Old Delhi called Balaklama. In Hindi, it means 'Voice of the Children'. "We only print news about street children, to make their voices heard", says Shambhu. Using only one computer, nicknamed "The King", and an old-fashioned printing press, the street children circulate 10,000 copies. In a city with 70,000 children addicted to drugs and rampant police corruption, the stories range from good deeds to urgent pleas for change. "People need to sympathise with each other, and not think that rich and poor are different." says 16-year-old reporter Jyoti.
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