the experiment continues...
it is almost a month since we started this experiment (am still not what name to give to this effort or should we give a name at all??) with the street children in chandigarh...the objective was simple - to reach out to these who are on the fringes of our society and give them love and acceptance (something that i had learnt at manav sadhna and had found it very powerful).
i remember that on the very second day of this experiment Anike and Sunny (two kids who earn their living either by begging or polishin shoes)) were walking by my side to see me off and all of a sudden they just scooted off...and left me standing totally dazed wondering what had happened...then i turned back and saw a local police officer with a "danda" in his hand...it was obvious that this guy had created quite a terror in the mind of these children. he approached me and told me very politely (surprisingly)that there is nothing i can do for these children...they are hibitual liars and thieves and nothing can be done to improve them and that if ever i report to him of anything missing, he would not be responsible. i thanked him for his warning and told him that they have become what they are because of their circumstances and the environment...i want to do my part of giving them acceptance and showing them an alternate world where love exists.
And that is what we have been trying...for the first few days, nobody used to show up at the time we used to decide to meet...i had to go around 17-sector looking for these children and there were times when i was able to locate them but then a lot of times i was not able to find them...when ever i was able to locate these children, they looked at me and beamed a
smile and were always eager to scribble on their notebooks. they were proud that they had notebooks with their names on it :-)
today, these kids show up on their own (Anike is regular and Sunny also shows up sometimes)...we have a permanant place in rose garden where we meet at 10:30am. the kids don't own a watch but they are generally more panctual than i am :-)...the first day i saw them waiting, it was quite a joyous moment for me...it meant that they had started trusting me. now everytime i walk upto rose garden and see from a distant these kids hanging around that tree where we sit, a natural smile comes on my face...it is a delight to see them there ...waiting to start writing or scribbling or colouring :-))
i also made a few friends while i used to walk around sector 17 looking for these children...most of these friends are in the age group of 15-20 and sell maps and books in the market...they were always eager to interact and i came to know through these interactions that their sales were quite dismal in summers and they were looking for some work and that most of them have not gone to school beyond class 2 or 3. when i asked them if they would like to read and write...they showed a lot of eagerness. so they also joined the gang and started showing up for our informal school...again the motivation was to give them acceptance and then see what direction they give to this effort. they were also quite happy with owning a notebook and learning english (because they wanted to speak engish with their customers).
on meeting them everyday i realized that since the summer mornings and afternoons are so hot, they pratically end up doing no business in the morning. i suggested to them if they would be interested in taking vocational courses...some of them showed eagerness and i took them to an institue where they teach all kind of vocations - plumbing, electrical work, mechanical,
forging etc...i did not push them towards any course...i just showed them what all existed and left it on them to decide. after a few days of discussion they decided on learning scooter repair work. And they also wished to continue to learn read and write.
Now, they are helping us start a small school in their sector...we have hired a teacher (a young boy from their colony) and are now looking for a place to run this school. "Yuvasatta" is helping us in getting the place (who incidentally were starting a school for children in the same sector) and also providing volunteers. The desired date to start the school is 15th of this month...a lot of boys have already enrolled in and are eagerly waiting to start reading and writing.
At the same time, we are also trying to get the scooter repair training and computer training (for the boys are matric pass) started...there is an institute that has offered to provide training to these boys at a subsidized rate...i am keeping my fingers crossed :-)
we do need volunteers and funds (for vocational courses) for this project so if you would like to help in any way, let me know (gagchaw@yahoo.com).
more later...
***amit often accompanies me and is teaching photography to some of the bigger boys (who enjoy playing with the camera and the laptop). recently, a volunteer from yuvasatta - Puneet has also started accompanying me on a regular basis. And sometimes, random people who come to the garden stop and join the gang for a day. today we were joined by another young man - Devinder who had seen me teaching a few days back and wanted to help. this guy has come from Uttranchal to look for job. He has enjoyed the experience of teaching so much that he has offered to come everyday...infact, he said that he will now look for an evening job :-)
i remember that on the very second day of this experiment Anike and Sunny (two kids who earn their living either by begging or polishin shoes)) were walking by my side to see me off and all of a sudden they just scooted off...and left me standing totally dazed wondering what had happened...then i turned back and saw a local police officer with a "danda" in his hand...it was obvious that this guy had created quite a terror in the mind of these children. he approached me and told me very politely (surprisingly)that there is nothing i can do for these children...they are hibitual liars and thieves and nothing can be done to improve them and that if ever i report to him of anything missing, he would not be responsible. i thanked him for his warning and told him that they have become what they are because of their circumstances and the environment...i want to do my part of giving them acceptance and showing them an alternate world where love exists.
And that is what we have been trying...for the first few days, nobody used to show up at the time we used to decide to meet...i had to go around 17-sector looking for these children and there were times when i was able to locate them but then a lot of times i was not able to find them...when ever i was able to locate these children, they looked at me and beamed a
smile and were always eager to scribble on their notebooks. they were proud that they had notebooks with their names on it :-)
today, these kids show up on their own (Anike is regular and Sunny also shows up sometimes)...we have a permanant place in rose garden where we meet at 10:30am. the kids don't own a watch but they are generally more panctual than i am :-)...the first day i saw them waiting, it was quite a joyous moment for me...it meant that they had started trusting me. now everytime i walk upto rose garden and see from a distant these kids hanging around that tree where we sit, a natural smile comes on my face...it is a delight to see them there ...waiting to start writing or scribbling or colouring :-))
i also made a few friends while i used to walk around sector 17 looking for these children...most of these friends are in the age group of 15-20 and sell maps and books in the market...they were always eager to interact and i came to know through these interactions that their sales were quite dismal in summers and they were looking for some work and that most of them have not gone to school beyond class 2 or 3. when i asked them if they would like to read and write...they showed a lot of eagerness. so they also joined the gang and started showing up for our informal school...again the motivation was to give them acceptance and then see what direction they give to this effort. they were also quite happy with owning a notebook and learning english (because they wanted to speak engish with their customers).
on meeting them everyday i realized that since the summer mornings and afternoons are so hot, they pratically end up doing no business in the morning. i suggested to them if they would be interested in taking vocational courses...some of them showed eagerness and i took them to an institue where they teach all kind of vocations - plumbing, electrical work, mechanical,
forging etc...i did not push them towards any course...i just showed them what all existed and left it on them to decide. after a few days of discussion they decided on learning scooter repair work. And they also wished to continue to learn read and write.
Now, they are helping us start a small school in their sector...we have hired a teacher (a young boy from their colony) and are now looking for a place to run this school. "Yuvasatta" is helping us in getting the place (who incidentally were starting a school for children in the same sector) and also providing volunteers. The desired date to start the school is 15th of this month...a lot of boys have already enrolled in and are eagerly waiting to start reading and writing.
At the same time, we are also trying to get the scooter repair training and computer training (for the boys are matric pass) started...there is an institute that has offered to provide training to these boys at a subsidized rate...i am keeping my fingers crossed :-)
we do need volunteers and funds (for vocational courses) for this project so if you would like to help in any way, let me know (gagchaw@yahoo.com).
more later...
***amit often accompanies me and is teaching photography to some of the bigger boys (who enjoy playing with the camera and the laptop). recently, a volunteer from yuvasatta - Puneet has also started accompanying me on a regular basis. And sometimes, random people who come to the garden stop and join the gang for a day. today we were joined by another young man - Devinder who had seen me teaching a few days back and wanted to help. this guy has come from Uttranchal to look for job. He has enjoyed the experience of teaching so much that he has offered to come everyday...infact, he said that he will now look for an evening job :-)
posted by Gagan (Liza) Chawla at 8:46 AM
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