There are 2 Indias from what I now
know, one that you see in the papers, in the international section where we are
now taking stands on global issues, in the business section where India leads
from the front on policies, trade and brands, the other that lives in the
villages, in the slums of the cities, from Orissa to Maharashtra to UP to
Karnataka, where there are few who can even read these glittery headlines.
I saw this India on a slightly warm
Saturday in September, at Bengarpet in the Kolar district, right next to the
thriving city of Bangalore, the IT capital of this country. Bengarpet is a
small town near the once prosperous Kolar Gold Fields. Gold fields that are now
shut are remembered less for the gold and more for the contamination of water
and infant deaths.
I work with CRY as one among many
CRY volunteers who work in and around the city of Bangalore to improve
conditions of state run schools and anganwadis through various means such as
photography, community work etc. I am privileged to be part of a group of
volunteers representing CRY that visited TREES, an organization started in
1995, which is working for the upliftment of Dalits and raising awareness on
child rights in these backward areas. It employs people from the grassroots
level and trains them to help others rise out of the darkness that these areas
seem to be bound in.
Just as a brief, the right to
education guarantees free and compulsory education for all children between the
ages of 6-14.The Supreme court also mandates that schools and
anganvadis(pre-nursery day cares) provide cooked mid day meals for all the
children.
The plan was to visit the various
schools and anganvadis that TREES has worked with. The major problems in these
villages are as follows: The schools are in a bad shape, they are very far
apart, there is no running water, no electricity in the anganvadis , mid day
meals consist of packaged junk food, and the worst, untouchability is still
practiced against children. These result in kids dropping out of their schools
and their parents being reluctant in sending the children back.
TREES works to raise awareness about
child rights and to try and convince children to go to school, and parents to
send their kids to school. This is a challenge. We travelled with TREES team
members through pristine south Indian countryside, lined with fields and palm
trees. These villages were on an average at a distance of at least 2 km from a
primary school and 6-7 km from a high school. We noticed that anganvadis in
particular were dingy; one being a house lent out by the teacher who teaches in
the anganvadi, it is darker than the Ajanta caves and during the rains fills up
with water. Sometimes snakes make their dwellings inside these anganvadis and
must be thrown out before a class can start .Imagine, 3 and 4 year olds
starting their lessons in education in such abysmal conditions.
Water in the villages is only
available for an hour a day, though there is D2h here for televisions. Most
schools lack proper toilets and running water. None of the anganvadis have
water or electricity, Kids drop out of schools for several reasons, distance
being a major one, practice of untouchability is another, taking care of
younger siblings if both the parents work is also another reason.
Despite all this, TREES has done a
brilliant job, they have been able to enroll and re-enroll several kids by
convincing them how important education is. They have worked with heads of
government bodies to be able to gather support on major issues. What started
with 20 villages now covers 350. TREEs have shown that a group of people who
believe that change is necessary can get things done. During one of our many
interactions with the children, the smiles on the children’s faces while they
narrated to us their aspirations highlighted the success that TREES has
achieved in the 15 years of its existence. We took back lessons, memories and
much more as we left Bengarpet.
Hopefully one day, through the combined efforts of organizations such as
TREES and CRY, even this India will shine.
You too can be a CRY volunteer and
ensure lasting change in the lives of children' For more information contact
CRY Volunteer Action team at vol.blr@crymail.org or visit http://www.cry.org/volunteer/index.html
