Can you imagine a life without school? Here while we revisit memories from school, there are children who are only dreaming about getting a chance to go to school, fighting the circumstances they face in life.
This teenager, a resident of the economically backward pockets of the Dum Dum area in Kolkata, has hardly had a regular life. She lives with her father and step mother. Her father is a menial labour who works in a marble shop. She has two elder sisters who got married very early; one of them in fact was a child bride.
‘It takes a village to raise a child’
This famous saying comes to my mind when I think about my exclusive breast feeding experience. It was not an easy one and required a lot of patience and perseverance, intake of proper nourishment and most importantly devoted time.
I had a very difficult pregnancy, where I was largely home-bound for the whole term. As a development professional and a child rights crusader knowing the benefits of exclusive breast feeding, I was determined to offer my child nothing but breast milk for first six months. The phase, though extremely fulfilling, wasn’t an easy one and I owe it to a lot of people who guided and supported me during the period.
It’s often discussed in hushed voices behind closed doors and locked windows. Boys are urged to explore, giggle and often pass sarcastic comments when the topic comes up, while girls are taught to avoid uttering the word openly in public. ‘Menstruation’ or ‘periods’, a quite naturally occurring process, is thus marred by appalling misconception and disturbing superstitions .Yes, women ‘bleed’ for six-seven days every month, but in a country like India the physical pain that they have to undergo during the cycle is surpassed by the mental turmoil created by the society.
It was a little before Teachers’ Day that I joined CRY. Sick of a life where the only things that mattered were a university degree and café visits with friends, I wanted a little something to confer meaning to my life, a little more to look forward to every week. However, when I walked through the door on my first day at CRY I wasn’t sure how much I could help the kids.
The kids seemed shy and even scared of me. So, when on my second session, a kid I had never taught came over and shyly wished me Happy Teachers Day, I was overcome by a sense of guilt. It was then that I decided I had to work to live up to the image of a teacher.
Responsibilities. We often complain about the burden they create on us.
Today, let us introduce you to someone who gracefully accepts every task and every duty that is thrown at her and then walks an extra mile or two to support her school.
Meet Priyanka Aparajit, an active CRY volunteer!
Priyanka had come all the way from her hometown to the ‘city of her dreams’- Mumbai for a job. A few months into the job, Priyanka quickly realised that she didn’t want to just be a corporate lackey; she wanted more purpose to her life. So, in September 2016, she began scouting for more meaningful ways to spend her spare time. CRY was an obvious choice and she knew that working for the children was somehow perfect- she was getting a chance to play the part of a responsible citizen while enjoying what she was doing.
Schooling is not as simple as it may seem. But if given the opportunity, you can shine! Hear it from Farhana Dildar Saiyed, who has made her parents proud by being the only member in her family to have passed 12th grade.
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‘O My God! I cannot eat this food’, ‘O My God! I cannot go to college everyday’, ‘O My God! How can I live without the AC?’ Sounds familiar? Surely does to many of us because we grew up taking things for granted and why not when we have seen only a very small part of the world and chose to neglect the not so happy realities. Hallelujah! It is time we start appreciating.
Since 2012, Odisha has been a prominent intervention area for CRY. One day when CRY representatives, along with members of its partner Sadhana-Society for Action in Disability and Health Awareness, visited a local school of Laxmiposi village of Baripada block, Mayurbhanj district, they were pleasantly surprised by how well the kids were describing the nutrients present in different fruits and vegetables. Another astounding fact was that every child had at least 1 banana during their tiffin break coming kitchen gardens which they were growing in their homes.
When Jeyasutha dropped out of school in the 7th grade, it wasn’t because she didn’t want to go to school anymore. She missed her friends and teachers and desperately wanted to study. But there was one thing she didn’t miss. It was the lack of toilet facilities in her school.
With no proper facilities for girls, she and her classmates had to wait till they got home to relieve themselves every day. Unable to carry on like this, she saw no other option but to drop out.
Child Rights and You (CRY) is an Indian non-profit that believes in every child’s right to a childhood – to live, learn, grow and play. For nearly 4 decades, CRY and its 200 partner NGOs have worked with parents and communities across 23 states to ensure sustainable change in the live of over 2 million underprivileged children.
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