an experiment...
whenever i came back to chandigarh, i always felt restless and uncomfortable...reason was simple - i was not doing anything where my heart was. so the other day inspired by the street schools run by manav sadhna, i went to sector 17 (biggest market of chandigarh) with an intention to interact with some street children there...i did not plan as to what i will talk to them or what i will do ...i just walked into the market and kept my eyes open for any street children. i met two street smart boys - Anike (about 10yrs) and Sunny (about7 yrs)...they were carrying a bag on their shoulders...the bag had shoe polish and brush. i approached them and tried breaking the ice by requesting them to polish my "chappals"...they were eager to do the job and thus, our interaction started...
we had lunch together and chatted a little about their life ...they told me that they often have to beg for food because they are not able to find enough customers for polishing shoes (i later found out that most of these young children carry these bags with shoe polish and brush to escape the police...their real work is begging)...i could make out that there were a lot of things that they said were not true (infact, they did not tell me their real name till they thought they could trust me) but my intention of being there was not to judge them....i was there to be with them. they told me that they would love to read and write and that they knew how to write "A,B and C". then they showed me their skills by writing on the cemented floor with a stone. i asked them if they would be meet me the next day to learn to read and write ...they said "yes". and so the experiment started...with no agenda or plans...the only plan is to go out and give love and acceptancce to these children. everything else will hopefully flow from there...
i went again the next day with some notebooks, pencils, sharpners, erasers and a nailcutter...i was not sure if i would be able to find these kids or not...(since sector 17 is a big market) i went to the place where we had decided to meet...they were not there. then i went to the place where they said that they usually worked...talked to a couple of other street children and shoe polish boys and was finally able to locate them. Another boy - Raja joined me. these kids were happy to see me (they probably didn't show up at the place we had decided because they thought i would not come). we had lunch together and then we sat in a corner and i gave them notebooks and pencils...i had not planned as to what was i going to teach them but the sheer joy on holding a pencil and a notebook was such that i really didn't have to do much...they simply enjoyed scribbling on their notebooks. it was quite a wonderful experience to watch their street smart demeanor melting away with each stroke of the pencil...
it has been more than a week now since i started this experiment...so far it is going pretty well. i go there without much agenda. i get the direction from these children - we sit together and do whatever the kids want to do...if they want to learn to write a new letter or a number then they do that...if they want to draw then they are welcome to take a plain sheet of paper and draw whatever they like.
i might teach them how to make carry bags using newspaper. i have discussed the idea with them and they have shown enthusiasm to learn the skill but first i have to learn to make these bags :-) (i did take one lesson from one of the kids at manav sadhna but i do need to practice my skills).
more later...
we had lunch together and chatted a little about their life ...they told me that they often have to beg for food because they are not able to find enough customers for polishing shoes (i later found out that most of these young children carry these bags with shoe polish and brush to escape the police...their real work is begging)...i could make out that there were a lot of things that they said were not true (infact, they did not tell me their real name till they thought they could trust me) but my intention of being there was not to judge them....i was there to be with them. they told me that they would love to read and write and that they knew how to write "A,B and C". then they showed me their skills by writing on the cemented floor with a stone. i asked them if they would be meet me the next day to learn to read and write ...they said "yes". and so the experiment started...with no agenda or plans...the only plan is to go out and give love and acceptancce to these children. everything else will hopefully flow from there...
i went again the next day with some notebooks, pencils, sharpners, erasers and a nailcutter...i was not sure if i would be able to find these kids or not...(since sector 17 is a big market) i went to the place where we had decided to meet...they were not there. then i went to the place where they said that they usually worked...talked to a couple of other street children and shoe polish boys and was finally able to locate them. Another boy - Raja joined me. these kids were happy to see me (they probably didn't show up at the place we had decided because they thought i would not come). we had lunch together and then we sat in a corner and i gave them notebooks and pencils...i had not planned as to what was i going to teach them but the sheer joy on holding a pencil and a notebook was such that i really didn't have to do much...they simply enjoyed scribbling on their notebooks. it was quite a wonderful experience to watch their street smart demeanor melting away with each stroke of the pencil...
it has been more than a week now since i started this experiment...so far it is going pretty well. i go there without much agenda. i get the direction from these children - we sit together and do whatever the kids want to do...if they want to learn to write a new letter or a number then they do that...if they want to draw then they are welcome to take a plain sheet of paper and draw whatever they like.
i might teach them how to make carry bags using newspaper. i have discussed the idea with them and they have shown enthusiasm to learn the skill but first i have to learn to make these bags :-) (i did take one lesson from one of the kids at manav sadhna but i do need to practice my skills).
more later...
posted by Gagan (Liza) Chawla at 3:41 AM
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