My students - working children

I have just shifted to Pune. I want to spare atleast one hour each day to some good cause. Joining any NGO could be time consuming for me for I would have spent a lot of time just travelling. Instead I have started doing a soul satisfying work.

Just a few days back on my way to the near-by post office, I met some rag picker children. I interacted with them and found that all were illeterate. Those going to government schools too failed to read and write. Most of them had left school long back. Their work earned them some 50 to 100 rupees per day that they did not want to let go by going to school. I tried to convince them about the necessity of going to school but they came up with all sorts of excuses.

Sadhana, 8 years told me that she left school just a week back for her teacher asked her to do so. I was shocked at her answer. How can a teacher do so? Sadhana was a dull student plus she had to travel a lot to make it to her school that is why her teacher asked her to leave school. I was completely shocked. Another girl Reshma, 7 years who left school six months back told me that her teacher used to beat her a lot with a stick. She was afraid to go to school. I had no answers.

Anyways I decided that I can do something to get them atleast literate. So each day from 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. I have started imparting literacy to them. The problem I faced was to find a proper place where I could teach them. Well the shopkeeper for whom these girls worked turned out to be a nice man. He allowed me to sit outside his shop for teaching.

So here's how my classes started. 10 girls all between 8 to 14 years started stdying from me. Their enthusiasm encourages me to teach them. Most of them have a good mind and pick up things easily. So from one hour study it became 2 hours study. But another problem came up. Because they were spending much time studying their work started getting affected. They started returning late in night at home for they took time completing their rag picking work. The shopkeeper requested me to limit my time of teaching. He is a nice man and has no problems in my teaching them. But because these girls live in an isolated area and far off, their returning late at night is risky as many drunkards roam at night on the roads. The shopkeeper made me understand this fact and there was truth in his words as I have ben to my students home. They really live very far off and in an isolated place.

So now I am left with no choice but to limit my time of imparting literacy. One thought has emerged in my mind since then. Why things are so bad for these girls? Is this the age of work or study? Their work is a hinderance in their path to study. Government has a rule that no child below 14 can work. But then if you just have a look at them you will feel that if they will not earn they will starve to death. They wear torn clothes, eat a vada pav in lunch and are covered with dirt. I ask them to take bath each day and remain clean. But then, those garbage dumps that force us to cover our nose even if we happen to pass through them, my student earn their livelihood from it and have to stay there. So they get dirty despite taking bath.Government has made a rule but not provided an alternate way of earning money for such children. This is sad and incomplete work on part of the government.

Their smiles and love and respect towards me has won my heart. I am doing whatever I can for them but I pray to God to give all equal opportunity and basic necessities.

Generator, Operator, Destroyer

Well that’s GOD! Though I don’t like Himesh Reshamiya’s voice and music but one thing I like about him. He gives credit for all his achievements to God and considers destiny bigger than talent. I believe in the same. That’s what he said in the latest Boogie Woogie show. There are so many talented people but all are not winners. God creates our destiny.

I remember a small fable. ‘God is no where’ wrote a student on a blackboard. Vivekananda was going to come there for a lecture. He saw the line and gave an inspiring lecture. The student who wrote the line felt guily. He got up to rub it at which Vivekananda caught his hands and said, “You don’t need to rub the line, just a comma is required in it” and took the chalk to put the comma as ‘God is now, here’.

Imparting education is not easy!

You may have all the resources, you may be sincerely dedicating your time and seriously and honestly imparting literacy to illiterate poor people, but still you can fail in your goal of getting a group of illiterate people fully literate. In my case I have not failed but not succeeded completely. Since last four months I am trying to educate a group of women working as housemaids. These women are keen on getting literate and I am keen to get them literate. But its four months of teaching and learning each day for an hour totally free but they are showing very little progress. So many things serve as a hindrance. First, their poverty, it’s like a disease. Its woes divert their attention from studying. Second, children. It is very important to keep their children away from them while they are studying, which is rare to impossible if the child is a baby, else they can never concentrate. Third, family problems including their day to day fights with their husband if he is a drunkard. Fourth, they may start studying with enthusiasm but after a point lose interest. Here the role of a teacher is very important to maintain the zest level. Whenever I face such a situation I try to make them play number games and the winner gets a prize or give them some stories and ask them to read it. If done properly then I give them a gift like some artificial jewelry, utensils or eatables etc. Fifth, no time. They are so busy in their lifestyles and earning money that parting time for some homework given is hard for them. Sixth, they often fall ill due to bad living environment and food. With all these obstacles I am still trying to succeed in my goal of getting these women if not educated at least literate. I have one more month then I am going for a two months tour.

When your parent fails to recognise you?

I just watched the film ‘Maine Gandhi ko nahin mara’. In the film, Anupam Kher is going through a psychological problem in which he feels that he has been jailed for killing Mahatma Gandhi. Urmila plays his daughter, who struggles to make his father normal. The acting of all actors is fabulous. While watching the movie, I suddenly remembered my school days not-so-close friend, Shraddha. We both were learning music together. One day after a music competition she suddenly started crying. I could not understand what had happened for she had performed extremely well in the competition. I asked her for the reason and she said, ‘My parents don’t have time for me, your parents encourage you so much’. I thought that her parents could not make it to the competition due to busy schedules that is why she was upset. I started consoling her. But then what she said shocked me. I never realized that Shraddha was going through so much misery in her life. She told me that her mother was psychologically ill since 2 years. Matters had worsened so much that she was not even able to recognize her daughters. She never felt hungry, did toilets on bed and was gradually forgetting everything. Till one year her father remained uncooperative and was not ready to show his wife to a psychiatrist due to society fear. Shraddha on seeing her mother’s bad condition fought with her father and took her mother to a specialist. Her father did not even pay the fees initially. So she used her savings. Later after lot of convincing her father agreed to help.

For the next two years I did not meet Shraddha as our schools had changed and she was no more coming to the music classes. Meanwhile I heard that she had started smoking in college and also had a boyfriend with whom she broke after some months. Later I heard that she had left college and no one had any clue about her. One day I saw her at the music classes and was curious to know about her mother. She told me that her mother was recovering and her father and sister were taking care of her as she had already married. She had also resumed classes and was keen on completing her graduation.