Food Arrives for Hungry Children After Citizen Journalist Files Report On Indian Cell Phone Network

By: Knight staff | 04/01/2011

When government food deliveries provided for malnourished children in rural India suddenly stopped around the first of the year, Savita Rath and other indigenous workers who care for the children did the best they could to provide meals.

But with food supplies dwindling, Savita also picked up a cell phone and filed a report through CGNet Swara, a mobile news network created by Knight International Fellow Shubhranshu Choudhary. In her report, she said: “We managed to give cooked food to the children in the last few months, but we can not manage any more and today we could only give a little dry food.” She then asked the government to send rice for the children immediately.

The response came quickly. Villagers and activists who heard the report called administrators to find out why the food deliveries had stopped. Less than 24 hours after the report was filed, officials brought cooked food for the children in the village of Raigarh, in India’s Chhattisgarh region. They also gave villagers written assurance that government food deliveries would resume by April 1.

“The CGNet Swara platform provides a crucial missing link between rural and urban communities, and provides key information for people who often don’t have knowledge of what’s happening in the outlying areas,” said Choudhary. “Swara helps hold officials accountable, it delivers important information, and it is an invaluable communications tool for tribal communities.”

Several days after food was delivered, Savita filed another report thanking the people who had called authorities on behalf of the children in her care.

Latest News

From TV News to TikTok Views: Journalism in the Age of the Influencer

As more people get news and information from YouTube, TikTok and other social media, how do they know what standards creators bring to their work? How do they distinguish between journalists, influencers and everything in between?

ICFJ Voices: Adam D. Williams, on Investigations with Impact

Adam D. Williams is a freelance journalist who mainly covers Latin America and the U.S. He’s also reported from southern Africa. He writes about social issues, energy, business, the environment, health and other topics. Williams has been reporting internationally since 2009. “Above all, ICFJ’s support gives journalists time and resources to produce impactful, important stories across the world that might not have been previously told,” Williams says.

Press Freedom: ICFJ-Backed Journalists ‘Refuse to Let the Truth Be Erased’ Amid Growing Challenges

Risks to journalists’ safety and their ability to operate are growing every day, from state-sponsored repression and legal attacks to armed conflicts and online violence. “Right now, it feels like a perfect storm has hit independent media,” said Anastasia Rudenko, founder and editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian outlet Rubryka.