You guys are my favourite people. People, who helped me with different initiatives, people who came forward to say good words about my work, people who became friends and listened to me during the lonely times. Today I come back again to you all and ask for something and there couldn’t be a better day than the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
There is this small classroom in a BMC School in Mumbai. Not our regular school and not even a school with no furniture and roof on top. It’s a good classroom with around 30 kids in it and 1 teacher who is assigned to teach and inspire them every day, every single day for 5 hours – Teaching English, Maths, History, Science all on her own.
Being a good friend of the teacher and others from the Teach for India Organization I am blessed to hear the regular stories about the struggles and failures they go through. I am blessed to contribute in my small way to help those 30 children become better educated human beings who can lead India in the coming years.
The kids are amazing. Some of them are mature enough to help the teacher when the class is going all mad. Some are so naughty that they call me and threaten me if I didn’t get them gifts the next time I went. Some are facing learning difficulty and not able to understand what they are being taught. Few of them are brilliant in their studies. There are beautiful girls who are so spoilt by the teacher that the minute you are firm with them, you will see tears in their eyes and then there are some who get “red cards” almost every day for misbehaving.
But there are two things which are common in all of them.
The first is hope. Hope for a better future. Hope to become a doctor and save people’s lives so that no other kid becomes an orphan like some of them are because their parents suffered from typhoid, malaria and other diseases. Hope to become a pilot and fly all across the world. Hope to become a good teacher and teach the way they are being taught. Hope that things will be fine and they will lead a good life.
The second is the strength to overcome the difficulties of life. During the community visit I witnessed things which I never did in my life. A 10 ft X 15 ft room is a home for a family of 6. The 6 ropes hanging between two walls has become the wardrobe, one side of the room is a kitchen and the opposite side is a toilet. The window opens into another room and there is no scope for sunlight to reach this little space which is the home for the 3 most brilliant students of the class. And this is the story of almost every kid in the class.
Where do they get so much strength from? Who inspires them to study so hard? How do they manage to be so energetic and happy every morning when they enter the class? Wish I could find the answers of all these questions. But the only thing I was able to do was to draw inspiration from them.
They are studying in grade 4. After a year or two, they will have to pay for their school. Some of them will withdraw and start working because their parents cannot afford the small fee which is one good dinner for most of us in a fancy restaurant. Hopefully we will be able to sponsor their education in coming time.
So this was the story of the class I was talking about. I have visited the class a few times to teach them General Knowledge and we had a lot of fun. I sincerely desire to continue it. But I want to introduce you all to a friend of mine who teaches these kids for 5 hours daily for 6 days in a week.
It has almost been 3-4 months since she has started teaching in the school as a Teach for India fellow. Every day has been a struggle; I have seen her crying almost every night for disappointing herself and not being able to give her best. I have seen her getting angry with herself for not having the stamina to teach for 5 long hours all by herself. I have seen her thinking and talking about her students for 24×7. I have seen her making worksheets, DPPs, Exit Slips, Academic tracker, behaviour tracker and what not for the kids when she could have been sitting in an air conditioned office of an MNC. Instead of partying with her friends, I have seen her enjoying the Saturday Movie with her kids in the classroom where they sit and discuss what ‘The Lion King’ taught them.
She wants to teach 30 students in the best possible way, the education which they deserve and for that she needs help from us. You and me!
Here is her blog where you will find every detail about the class in coming months and also see where your donation was used: https://30ignitedminds.wordpress.com/
Here is the link where you can donate (Tax Exemption certificate will be provided): https://www.giveindia.org/iGive-30ignitedminds