The school did not work for Anike, Bobby and Aakash… there are various reasons…the foremost reason is the fact that “Sikhya” is very far off and the children have to be in the school from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This means that these children cannot go to the market plaza to earn (by polishing or by begging). I was able to convince the families before the summer vacation but now that the school has re-opened, I faced the same resistance. In addition, the land on which they have their jhuggis/tents (they live on encroached land) is acquired by the government and they are required to move to a different location. The location that they are planning to move to is very far off from this school – Sikhya so the transportation would also be a problem. Plus, Anike, Bobby and Aakash are also reluctant to go to school because they want to continue coming to “Chotti Si Asha”.

It was a tough decision for me but I finally relented and have stopped persuading them to go to Sikhya…even if I am able to send them for a few days, I will not be able to sustain it since the desire is not there inside them. I continue to teach them at “chotti si asha” and will try again a few months later…may be by that time I will be able to convince them of the value to learn and grow and not just live by the day.

Meanwhile, I want to invite volunteers to help me in creating a curriculum for these children – a curriculum that I and the volunteers that come to us can follow. We are mainly teaching them Hindi, English and Maths. Please write to me if you are interested in participating in this endeavor.