This NGO trains people to make and upload videos on social causes | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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This NGO trains people to make and upload videos on social causes

ByJeet Mashru
Jan 23, 2023 12:53 AM IST

Nag, a farmer, was told about Kilam village by a friend in April 2022. “I get deeply affected by the problems people face in the area,” he said. “So when I heard about these villagers who had to traverse a considerable distance and extract water with their hands, I decided to visit the village and document it

Mumbai: Biraj Nag, living in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, never imagined that shooting and editing a video and tweeting it on a social media platform would free a village from using the ancient technique of extracting water from the earth with their bare hands. The residents of Kilam village, unbelievable as it might appear, were procuring their water this way even 75 years after independence.

This NGO trains people to make and upload videos on social causes
This NGO trains people to make and upload videos on social causes

Nag, a farmer, was told about Kilam village by a friend in April 2022. “I get deeply affected by the problems people face in the area,” he said. “So when I heard about these villagers who had to traverse a considerable distance and extract water with their hands, I decided to visit the village and document it.”

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After Nag recorded and edited the video on his phone and uploaded it on Twitter, he sent it to the district’s officials as well. “They were surprised to see the plight of the villagers,” he told HT. In the three weeks following the video’s upload, a borewell was dug and a hand pump was installed by the district administration—the first ever hand pump installed in the village of over 200-250 individuals.

The force instrumental in getting Nag and many like him to shoot videos on social causes is an NGO called ‘Video Volunteers’. The NGO’s free programme called ‘Buland Bol’ has five modules, explained Pinki Goyal, one of the trainers. Through these, people are taught to identify important issues in the community and make, edit and upload videos on social media to create an impact. Video Volunteers doesn’t just teach; it identifies individuals from all over the country, including its remotest parts, and empowers them with these skills.

“Many women, who aren’t allowed out of their houses even for an education, are using this course to study from home and make videos highlighting issues in their community,” said Goyal. “Around 1,500 applicants have enrolled so far for the training, of which 551 have already completed the course and are making videos at their own community levels. A hundred and eighty-seven of these are women.” Of the 551 individuals from 24 states of India, the highest number of trained individuals are from West Bengal at 93, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 84 and Bihar at 64.

Nanu Kumari, who hails from Sithamarhi district in Bihar, always wanted to highlight the lack of schools in her area and work on the issue of inequality in education. Nanu, who is a post-graduate, trained with Video Volunteers and brought the issue into the public eye through social media. After many follow-ups and meetings with local leaders, she was able to get the work of constructing a school started in her area.

“In villages, girls are not encouraged to study,” she said. “I somehow managed to convince my parents and did my Masters. But what next after this? That’s when I heard about this programme, where one can use one’s phone to make videos on local community issues, and enrolled. So far, I have made 38 videos spotlighting different issues from my village—and, what’s more, most of them have been resolved.”

Nanu revealed that after making so many videos, she had gained the confidence to talk to local elected representatives about the problems of her village. “They listen to me and get the work done,” she said. She also carries her videos to villagers and makes them watch to get an idea of how issues in the area can be tackled. “I want this programme to reach villages where even local government representatives don’t reach,” she said, “and so I actively encourage other women to learn more on making videos.”

Samata Jadhav, a resident of Kalyan, was with Video Volunteers in 2006 initially for a few years. She quit but joined again last year after taking the NGO’s new training course, and is now highlighting important issues on the outskirts of Mumbai. She recently made a video on a man who educates women on menstrual hygiene and distributes sanitary pads in the area.

“The most interesting part for me is recording people’s responses when we show them the videos we’ve made,” said Jadhav. “I love doing this and encourage others also to take this training. Jointly we can bring about a lot of change.”

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