Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Some golden coins on the street !!

0 comments Posted by Roo at 12:36 PM

Kids always have a special place in my heart.  They are so pure and divine that their company takes me to another world of joy.  That is why I dint let my mind think twice before I chose to volunteer myself for the “Street Children Empowerment Program”.

I, along with the couple of my colleagues had to meet these people at a common place near allotted centre. There were few kids gathered in common place randomly scattered who were playing around paying least attention to us.  Though they were amused by the sight of few decent looking educated people who came to meet them (who were us) , they dint want to pay an ear to what was told.  Realising that we were not able to grab their attention, we started asking them about their interest to pull them onto the track.

The group had mix of children. So we started with education as it seemed a common platform to connect with all the kids. I was deeply shocked after what they said about themselves.

Muthu:  A lad who looked at life with all despair. A School dropout with no hopes to study further after failing in 9th standard.  Lived with daily wage of of Rs. 150 earned by working in a mechanic shop.  Lost his father in a road accident a couple of weeks back. He expressed his disinterest in resuming his studies as that dint mean anything fruitful to him. He also couldn’t go to school due to lack of sleep. Now where did this lack of sleep suddenly come from??? From the sleepless nights that he spent at the railways station waiting for the railways reservation counter to be opened next morning so that he could get Tatkal tickets. By the way, where was he going? Nowhere. The tickets were supposed to be taken for some rich lazy ones who would not stand in the queue. And the police men forced this task on these poor li’l kids. If denied, they were brutally beaten up. 

Suganya: A sweet li’l girl who was silently listening to us sitting beside her mother all the while. This girl looked much younger to her age. Almost 3-4 years younger. I just could remember one thing when I saw here. Big things come in small packages. She was studying in a local corporation school nearby. Her mother was so excited talking about here. I understood it when I happened to see the progress report of this little girl and was amazed too. All I could see is #1 marked again the rank in every exam. She also earned a lot of certificates and medals at school which were spoiled due to rain.

Ajith: A very impatient boy who kept rambling all the while. He goes to school, likes football and other outdoor games but dint anything to place with. Very good at mimicking voices though not trained, and can twist his body as he likes, though not a gymnast. He roamed around with a film roll and expressed his interest in painting and photography.

Karthik: One kid among this crowd who looked tidy compared to others, and was enrolled in the school. He carried a pleasant smile on his lips in spite of the hapless lifestyle. He seemed to be interested in studies and tried to interpret what we were speaking. While all the other kids, seemed careless, this one was totally thinking something very seriously. Something was troubling him. He took the responsibility to assemble the kids whenever we come. He wanted all of them to see a ray of hope to live.


Why was Muthu beaten up by the police?? How did Suganya’s certificates get drenched in rain? What was troubling Karthik?? Only after I spoke to them, I realised they were HOMELESS and I actually took some time to digest the fact. They showed a pavement with a couple of wooden boxes and clothes scattered around. Their kitchen was a common area with some vessels to cook. The pavement is their living room, their dining hall, their bedroom. When there was no home to live, how could they even imagine water supply? When I asked Muthu what’s the one thing that they want from me, I was totally not expecting the answer. He asked me if we could get provide them with a source of water for their livelihood. I wondered how could people even live without water?? Totally hopeless. Very disturbing. 


After the whole one hour, it was time for us to leave. I had so many thoughts running in mind and I started walking. That’s when I observed Karthik silently standing next to me wanting to ask something but stopped by his silence. When I asked him if he wished to tell me something, he asked me something which completely moved me. He said, “There are many people who visit us randomly. They sit with us and talk. Spend some time and leave. They create hopes and we eagerly wait for them to come the next time but all in vain. Will you at least come again to help us?? 

I was totally lost in my thought that I dint answer. Then I realised my words were waiting to come out as tears !!!!

 

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