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

Journalists to Investigate Education, Evictions & More With Support from ICFJ and News Corp

Four early-career journalists supported by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) will report on education, high school sports, eviction trends, and immigration enforcement. This financial support and mentorship are made possible by an ICFJ program supported by News Corp. It is designed to support early-career journalists around the world through training and reporting grants.

Sharon Moshavi on Journalism, Disinformation and Why Facts Still Matter

Sharon Moshavi, the president of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), recently joined the Ink and Insights podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of journalism and the evolving information ecosystem. The interview, hosted by author and storyteller Sumit Sharma Sameer, touched on the growing role of AI in both enhancing and undermining journalistic work, the importance of audience-centric innovation and why young reporters must build subject-matter and tech fluency to stay resilient in the industry.

ICFJ Knight Fellow Sannuta Raghu Says “Fidelity to Source” is Vital When Using AI

Newsrooms globally have begun exploring ways to convert their journalism into different formats using AI: for example, from text articles to videos, podcasts, infographics and more. As they do so, the core challenge isn’t just accuracy – it’s rigor. Journalists strive to get facts right and attribute them clearly, avoid bias, verify claims, and maintain transparency. When AI is used to convert a work of journalism from one form to another, the same rigor may not carry over.