Inspiration
Navin Gulia: A glimmer of goodness in young lives darkened too early by the grime of reality
Our series “Teacher Warriors” honours some of the country’s best and bravest teacher warriors, striving to give kids a fighting chance at a better present and a future floating with possibilities. In the tenth episode, Nichola Pais speaks to Navin Gulia, founder, Apni Duniya Apna Ashiana (ADAA)
Our series "Teacher Warriors" honours some of the country’s best and bravest teacher warriors, striving to give kids a fighting chance at a better present and a future floating with possibilities. In the tenth episode, Nichola Pais speaks to Navin Gulia, founder, Apni Duniya Apna Ashiana (ADAA):
“Our problem is we question things a lot. There is no need to question if you are doing good!” This sums up Navin Gulia’s simple guiding belief. Through Apni Duniya Apna Ashiana (ADAA), he reaches out to the severely disadvantaged children living on the fringes of society… the migrants exploited for cheap labour and begging, the abandoned, the differently abled. “These children are prone to a lot of negative experiences. In the midst of this toxicity, they see one person who is doing good for them… it affects them. The child’s belief that there are good people in this world too is triggered. And this might trigger a change. You might not be there to witness that change but you should do it regardless.” Coming from a man who suffered a near fatal accident in 1995, and has never allowed his paraplegia to get in the way of living life and spreading hope, his words are deeply moving…
Philanthropist, award-winning adventurer, author, and motivational speaker… yours is a life that inspires many. What spurred you to start ADAA?
Working for yourself gives you some amount of satisfaction but nobody can be fully happy, no matter the amount of fame, money and success one might achieve. Michael Jackson was not a happy man; neither is Shah Rukh. At a certain point, you have to stop and start giving back to society. I always wanted to work for children and I knew I would do it. I am a practical person; I don’t keep coming up with excuses to delay something. Fact is, if you do something for yourself no amount is enough; if you do for others, even a little is enough. It gives you joy. If you work for your own children it is a joyful experience for a parent. But in the vast majority of cases, parents sacrifice a lot for their children but they don’t get appreciation in return. But when you are working with disadvantaged children, they appreciate whatever you do for them.
It is a misused term nowadays, but I’m a believer in the Gandhian philosophy that the progress of a society is measured by the condition of its weakest, most vulnerable section. These children are that section. They don’t even have a vote; politicians and administration only generally work for votes. Eventually, whether society is bothered or not, I did not want to feel guilty at the end of my life that I didn’t do anything.
ADAA works with children, whose existence nobody seems to even know about…
Most NGOs have a shelter which benefits a fixed number of children In Jhajjar district we work with large shifting numbers of migrant labourers, children who live around brick kilns, which are outside the city or village because of the pollution laws. These migrant children cannot avail of the facilities that the village provides. They don’t go to the village school, they don’t have access to proper water and electricity. They don’t have anything.
I always make it a point to address the children who are not being attended to by anyone else. The drawback is that I will never be able to visibly present all these children if someone wishes to see them. But that is no reason why I shouldn’t be working for them. It is a difficult decision to make, but the better decision to make.
What support does ADAA provide at your village centre?
We have welfare activities which include food distribution, medical health camps and warm clothes distribution during winter for 500-1000 children. We also have a project for the education, support and promotion of the girl child in Barhana village, which has the lowest girl child ratio at 378 girls to 1000 boys.
Does formal education feature in your scheme of things?
You cannot offer sweets to a person who is very thirsty! When it comes to children who have been exploited for begging or who are employed in brick kilns, the need for food and clothes comes first. Medical help is next and then comes education. We have motivational, awareness and educational activities which help children learn skills. You cannot expect every child to complete his graduation or post-graduation. In today’s world it is difficult for a child who hails from a very poor family to study for ten years more when he could start earning his livelihood at 14, working as an electrician, plumber, or carpenter. If a child is very good at academics we support him/her for further studies.
With migrant children you might never see the harvest, so to speak, yet you plough on regardless…
Many children who have grown up keep in touch saying they were inspired by me. But there will be larger numbers who are not able to give me feedback. You might not be there to witness that change but do it regardless.
This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue as a part of our cover story on Teacher Warriors. Subscribe to ScooNews Magazine today to have more such stories delivered to your desk every month.
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Images courtesy – Navin Gulia