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Motivating the kids in slums to get educated
The Doorstep School with the help of an NGO names the streets and alleys after students who rise and shine bright irrespective of their conditions.
There are different ways of spreading awareness about education and its benefits and motivating a child to get educated. A school in Mumbai, the Doorstep School has taken the responsibility to educate the slum kids. The duo of Rajani Paranjpe and Bina Sheth Lashkari run the school in Mumbai and Pune.
"It is not easy being a kid in the slums of Mumbai. Parents have to work day and night to put food on the table, leaving the children to run wild – they often fall into the clutches of local goons and slum lords who lead them astray or into a life of crime." Said Rajani.
With an NGO, they are naming no-name alleys and narrow streets in the slums after kids who have made the effort to rise above their circumstances to study or are academic achievers. The Local Corporators have joined hands in this effort too.
"Innovative initiatives like naming roads after children serve the purpose of rewarding kids for their efforts and creating role models for other children to enrol in school. Felicitating them also serves the purpose of getting them to stick with academics and focus on building careers." Read a website.
According to ndtv.com, a 27-year-old young man named Rehmuddin Shaikh, a school dropout who grew up to be a state level rugby player and is now doing his B.A., had an alley named after him recently.
“I feel really proud of myself. Because people used to know me but did not know me by my name. But after my name came up on this board…they say, ‘Where should we go today? Let’s go sit at Rehmuddin Shaikh Road'”.
The impact of the road-naming exercise has been tremendous. The children are thrilled to point their names out to visitors and residents of their localities.
Another example is of Devi Chauhan, a young art teacher who studied only till Class 4, refusing to get married at the age of 15.
“Things are different in our society now. I have only studied till Class 4 but want to study further now. I have to become a well known artist in the future,” she smiles and says.
Image Courtesy: http://www.thebetterindia.com/