Under the Bridge

People who make a difference....

See what these two men in India do.
Laxmi Chandra  - back
Rajesh Kumar Sharma  - front

• For a couple of hours each day, they teach school to over 50 children from the slums. These children are the sons and daughters of India's poorest: the migrant workers, flower sellers, construction laborers, rickshaw drivers and farm workers. Often, their parents are illiterate and can not even write their own names, let alone know how to register their children for school. These children have a very slim opportunity to learn.

India does provide free education, but the classes are overflowing and the standard of teaching is dismal.

For example:

- the teachers - when they - show up, write a problem on the board and then leave.
- often, the students are physically punished  -beaten  

  

Resulting in the children barely learning anything at all.

• Rajesh Kumar and student

Rajesh Kumar's Informal School 

( From reading and writing to Pythagorean Theorem ) 

 

It began in 2008, when Rajesh ( a local shop keeper )was on his way to work. He saw some children playing in the dirt and asked their parents, why they were not in school. The parents replied that it was too dangerous for the children to get there, as they had to cross a busy bridge. They added that if Rajesh was concerned with their education, that he should teach the children.

The next morning, Rajesh -with no formal training- came back to teach his first lesson to 6 excited children...within two months there were 140.

• They hold class under a Railway bridge and use the concrete walls for blackboards. The rumble of the trains is constant. 

• Often, the area is contaminated with human excrement. Here the students clean the "classroom" area before sessions.

• Look at those faces!!!! :) :)

• Checking out their new backpacks. ( which were donated, along with some mats to sit on, socks and shoes)

Nicely dressed, but more importantly their self-esteem is soaring!

They're just happy school kids!!!!!

"To change the future of these children, education is the only weapon....if they have education, they can achieve anything...without, they can do nothing" -Rajesh Kumar Sharma-

Try to remember dear readers, that the path to greatness is usually not through big, grandiose acts. It is with small steps, leading in the right direction.

Thanks To:

• The Asahi Shimbun (May 06 2013)
• Your Daily Media ( Nov 26 2013 ) - Jesse Fernandez writer