WE are running charitable learning centres in two different slums of Greater Noida (a part of Delhi NCR, or National Capital Region). Main occupation of the slum-dwellers is rag-picking. Even young boys and girls whom we are teaching are engaged in this job.
The learning centres are meant for giving educational opportunities to these underprivileged children belonging to migrant families. Our aim is to give them basic education and some sort of vocational training.
‘Rag-pickers’ or ‘kabaada binne wale’ are mainly from Assam, Jharkhand and other eastern states. They dwell in hundreds of slums (jhuggis) in Noida, Greater Noida, Dadri, Bulandshahr and beyond.
Everyone in the rag-picking family, even a five-year-old, is an earning member. Young boys and girls go out for collecting stuff from ‘kabaada’; senior male members go to factories and big residential societies to collect garbage and scrap and waste material; and women folk sift through the collected stuff according to their own gradation.
The kids we are engaged with have never been to school. Therefore, we have placed our students in grades as per their learning ability, and not as per their ages. Boys and girls from ages five to 15 are enrolled in various Classes. We are preparing them for exams conducted by NIOS (National Institute for Open Schooling), a government body which allows students to write exams and obtain certification at any age.
We are also trying to develop some sort of skills in them. We have already opened a tailoring school in one of our facilities. Here, girls and boys are trained in cutting and stitching. Some of our students have developed the skill to the point that today they are stitching their own uniforms.
Our students are also learning computer. Some selected students have been enrolled in a nearby computer institute where they go after school hours.
Because of our efforts, many families have stopped sending their kids out for garbage collection. This means they have realised the importance of education and are ready to sacrifice their earnings through their children.
Our learning centres run from Monday to Saturday. Mid-day meal is given to the students on all six days. They are also provided free-of-cost textbooks, school uniforms and winter clothes.