Name: Thansila Muyyarikkandy

Organization: India’s The Peace Gong

Awards/Achievements: 1) Wayanad Shishu Panchayat President; 2) Shishu Panchayat Micro Finance Bank Founder; 3) Chief editor of Peace Gong Kerala; 4) Media literacy head of AFRC INDIA

Introduction

I am the president of Wayanad Shishu Panchayat (a national movement aimed at educating people in India about democracy and children’s rights). I led a group representing my home state of Tamilnadu in a UN-supported youth consultation on the UN Millennium Development Goals, an event which was organized by youth-led development agency Restless Development. At Wayanad, I performed many tasks including leading a group of girls to conduct the UN My World Survey and coordinating a youth conference on volunteerism.

One of my greatest contributions to Shishu Panchayat is founding a micro finance bank (MFB), which has brought waves of changes and stability to all our initiatives. The Shishu Panchayat MFB now promotes budget literacy among children.

I can share my experiences of building Shishu Panchayat and starting a bank. I can also tell the delegates how a global children’s newspaper works and how the members are connected through social networks, a website and video conferencing. Still, the most important thing I can bring is a positive spirit of change achieved through will power and support from family, colleagues and mentors.

The most important thing I can contribute to the Asian Girl Human Rights Award is to tell the world about it with the help of Peace Gong, our newspaper, and by carrying the flame of the spirit of the girl child throughout my nation by connecting it all to all the initiatives I am presently engaged with.