WE are running charitable schools in three different slums of Greater Noida, which is part of Delhi NCR (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 schools are aimed at giving these kids 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 Nursery, LKG, UKG, Class I and Class II. 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 where enrolment is highest (150 students). Next in line is computer training.
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 the earning through their children.
Our schools 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 uniform and winter clothes.