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Crowdfunding helped an artist put underprivileged kids in school in Gurgaon.
59-year-old artist Nalini Bhargava is educating underprivileged children who are first generation learners in their families. Education is expensive so she has tapped crowdfunding to finance her NGO Shakuntalam Shiksha Kendra. She also sells her art to supplement the finances.
Artists are known to be more tuned in to human emotions; probably that’s what drives them to go beyond themselves when they do something for others. A Gurgaon-based NGO founded by an artist is helping first children who are first generation learners from their families receive free education and training in basic life skills and personal hygiene.
When 59-year-old artist Nalini Bhargava saw 2 slum children wistfully watching other kids in uniforms boarding a school bus she immediately realised that she had to do something about the situation and that’s how Shakuntalam Shiksha Kendra was born.
Speaking with the children she realised that they wished to study but their parent’s poor financial condition prevented them from attending school. Daily wage labourers, the parents would barely manage two square meals a day.
Not one to let a situation get the better of her, Nalini roped in like-minded friends and they decided to create a safe space to teach children from underprivileged backgrounds. They ended up starting 2 schools in Gurgaon, one in Sector 23 and the other in Rajiv Nagar. They initially used crowdfunding to raise finances for this project but later Nalini decided to supplement the finances with the proceeds received from the sale of her paintings.
These are not full fledged schools, but institutes that provide basic literacy to the children in an informal environment. Once the children pick up the necessary skills and the confidence, they are encouraged to enrol in government schools. Brighter students who show promise are enrolled in private schools and the fees are paid by the NGO.
The children whose lives have been touched by the NGO often return to teach other underprivileged kids. Meenakshi Sen joined the school at the age of 16 and passed the open school exam with 77%. Now, she balances her preparation for her Bachelor’s degree with tuitions for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
The school’s biggest challenge is student retention. “The major challenge we face is the irregularity in attendance. There are times when we have only 30-35 kids in the schools and there are also few months when we have more than 110 children coming to school,” says Nalini.
You can assist the NGO by funding the teachers’ salaries and providing basic study materials for the children. You can contribute here.