Will be journalists anyway, passionate children journalists of ‘Hello’ say

They are children, but they do not spare even ministers when they effortlessly slip into the role of journalists.

And they have no plans to switch career once done with their studies. They just want to be journalists with more skills.

Around 150 of such young journalists gathered at Dhaka’s Hotel Radisson Blu Water Garden on Sunday.

The gathering was to mark the launch of the book ‘Amar Kotha, Amader Kotha (My voice, our voices),’ a collection of 101 reports and essays written by children and adolescent journalists.

An HSC first-year student of Sylhet’s Blue Bird High School and College, Ruhin Ahmed, said he wrote a piece titled, ‘I am proud to be a journalist’ on the Hello site and was glad to see it finding its way in the book.

“I wrote two others. They are on the woes of poor students,” he said.

“In the essay - ‘I am proud to be a journalist’ – I said I want to be a journalist when I grow up,” he added.
Thakurgaon’s Aminur Rahman Hridoy, who took the SSC test this year from Pirganj Pilot High School, said he had been writing in local newspapers as a young journalist.

I searched children journalism on Google once and found the Hello website. Hello selection test was not held in my district. But my writing was published when I got registered,” he said.

Hridoy said his parents always asked him to be focused on his studies avoiding every other thing. But, now, they are also eager about Hello’s activities.

His father Abul Kashem said he was proud of his son’s writings.

Hridoy wrote about an unrecognised freedom fighter, a drug addict student and awareness in using technology.
Asked how it felt to be speaking to top government officials to make a report, he said, “They pay special attention while listening to me.

“Not only this, our UNO sir asks for my opinion on many occasions to solve problems. So I do some homework before talking to them.”

HSC first-year student of Dhaka’s Uttara High School and College Sajibul Hasan also said people took him seriously when he would introduce himself.

Hasan has two reports picked for the book. They are on unhealthy environment of bakeries and mosquito.

He said he had plans to continue journalism along with studies.

Jubayer Al Mahmud, who sat the SSC exams this year from Rajshahi’s Agrani School and College, said he liked chemistry.

“I will also try to enrol at engineering and medical colleges. But I wish to continue journalism no matter what career I pick,” he said.