Mothers of thousand kids

2 women change the future of children living in Kolkata's urban slums

All I did was panic when I saw 100 kids yelling in a classroom for the first time. To get their attention, I yelled back. But that did not work. So, I blurted out,“If you don’t listen, how would you know what is in here for you?” The class fell to silence. That was my first stint with teaching and the beginning of a long-drawn adventure.

It all started with a bespectacled woman with a warm smile coming to my office one day. Her name was Sujala Roy. An IT professional herself, she spoke about a program (Happiness Program) that could help IT professionals manage stress. Never a fan of sitting with my eyes closed, I initially said no. However, her persistence overpowered my resistance. I loved the program and the breathing technique (Sudarshan Kriya). My migraine improved and I became calmer and more focused.

Slowly, Sujala and I became close friends. So when I shifted to Bengaluru, we stayed in touch. One day she called up and spoke about helping kids in urban slums. 

While teaching her domestic help’s son, she realized there is a huge gap between what these kids know and what is there in books. With no guidance from parents or teachers, many lose interest in studies and get involved in substance abuse, gambling, cyber-crime and so on. 

She was deeply concerned and wanted to help. A volunteer program fuelled her aspirations and so she visited slums and started teaching a handful of kids. She saw the problems in slums first-hand: Tiny rooms shared by families of six, few resources, and the constant struggle to make ends meet. With that, how could parents really take care of their kids’ education?

Thus, was born Light a Lamp: An initiative that could provide mentorship and care to kids in Kolkata’s slums.

Her mentor, Shabari Chowdhury, suggested that she reach kids at a larger scale. Always wanting to do some social work, I thought of joining her. So, excitedly I packed my bags to begin my journey of social work in Kolkata.

From chaos to laughter, from lectures to conversations

But making a difference is not as easy as getting excited to make a difference. I realized this in that classroom of 100 kids yelling at the top of their voice. The classroom was in the slum, Dhapa. A rickshaw announcing free English classes had attracted kids in good numbers. But while teaching, we realized that the kids thought that going to English classes was enough to learn the language.

The kids did not do their homework, did not take much interest in classes, and often skipped them. Meanwhile, the rickshaw announcing the classes and our personal visits continued to attract kids. To get kids to become regular, we called their parents for a meeting. We asked them to make sure they sit to study everyday. 

But that did not work. For three years, we struggled to make a difference. The kids and parents did not seem to care about our efforts and we were losing confidence.

 

That is when we met Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bengaluru Ashram and told him about what we were doing and our looming failure. Surprisingly, Gurudev thought that our idea was great and we were doing a great job. He asked us to continue our work.

We returned to Kolkata with confidence. With one-pointed focus, we began solving our problems one by one.

Getting the parents on board

Maybe to hold the interest of our students, we needed a change in the curriculum. Sujala sought the help of professional educators who turned our curriculum around. There were more games, activities, and simplicity in this curriculum. The kids grew interested. Our classes grew to be livelier, ringing with laughter instead of the previous chaos. More recently, we brought coding and iPads to our classes with the help of partner NGOs. The kids are just loving it!

Earlier when we spoke to our kids’ parents, we told them what they should be doing for their kids. But they weren’t impressed with our shoulds and should-nots. All we got was blank looks. 

What we did not realize then was that to truly be of any help, we needed to become their friends. They already had their own struggle of making ends meet. Our lectures about right parenting were the least helpful. So, we switched our lectures to conversations, during which they’d blurt out, “What is the point of education? They anyway have to do what we are doing!” 

So we showed them possibilities. Education could get them and their kids out of poverty. They understood and we finally got their support. 

After finally getting a little drift of how we could work, we began opening centers in other slums. We also started teaching science, maths, yoga, and meditation. Volunteers started trickling in. We were finally making a difference!

More than an educational initiative

Namrata (name changed) has been coming to our Dhapa center since we first walked in that tiny cramped classroom of 100 kids over ten years ago. Over the years, she has turned into a confident kid whose excellent command over English will give you the impression that she studies in a private school. A few months ago, she with other students wrote and performed a play to an audience of 150.

Usually happy, I found her lost in spirits recently. On talking to her, I found out that a boy was harassing her online. He hacked her Facebook account and called her friends and parents. Her parents thought she was at fault. And so beat her. I counseled her and convinced her parents that she did no wrong. I then took her to the cybercrime cell who helped us track the boy down and put the harassing to an end.

When Dinesh, one of our students lost his father, he left college to run his father’s small shop and support the family. He was unsure about his future and struck with grief over his loss. He dropped out of our classes as well. But Sujala kept in touch with him regularly. After several discussions with her, Dinesh re-joined Light a Lamp. He decided to complete his degree and apply for jobs. He is now working as an administrative assistant  in a top B- school in Kolkata. 

There are hundreds of kids like Namrata and Dinesh whom we and our team of volunteers have met through Light A Lamp. We have shared each others’ stories, celebrated their successes, heard their problems and boosted their confidence when they’ve been low. Love has kept all of us going!

Love from the mentors brings the kids every Sunday. Love from the kids brings volunteers with hectic day jobs to spend extra hours tutoring. 

This love is so comforting that it recharges me for the week ahead. 

That is why Light a Lamp is more than just an educational initiative for us. It has become a way for us to care, bond and bring out the best in our kids.

-Chandrani Biswas, IT professional, Co-founder, Light A Lamp

Know more about the Light a Lamp initiative.