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Study support classes
Sita Khude is twelve years old. She lives and works with her family in the Pashan brick kiln on the outskirts of Pune. Like most of the children here she gets up early to help her parents make the bricks and then, in the afternoon, carries them to the kiln for firing.
She also goes to school and attends the morning study classes arranged by India Sponsorship Committee. Now that she can read and write, she is able to help her parents keep proper accounts, to make sure that they are paid fairly for their work.
Sita was recently selected to attend one of the special schools set up in Pune to provide education for brighter children. In all, four children from the kilns have been able to get places in these special schools; a considerable achievement given the difficulty of their situation.
In India, over 10 million children are unable to complete their schooling because of poverty and 4 out of 10 people are totally illiterate.
Karuna works with 3 partner organisations- Jeevak, Samata Mahila Society (SMS) and Bahujan Hitlay to offer an education programme which has been an incredibly effective way of helping people to take control of their own lives. The programme includes- slum kindergartens, after school clubs, education hostels, culture classes, adult education and technical skills training.
Bahujan Hitay was one of Karuna’s original partners, in 1979, they started with 1 balwadis (kindergarten) in 1 slum; they now run 71 balwadis caring for 2,214 infants; 7 adult literacy classes helping 125 women to learn to become literate and 30 after-school classes helping 900 students with their homework.
Chandani, aged 4 attends kindergarten in the Dapodi of Pune; she is supervised by two teachers who use songs and games to effectively develop the children’s social skills and basic reading and writing ability. Her teacher tells us that Chandani has developed the habit of concentrating in learning situations. She has a bright future ahead of her; she will enrol at the local infant school next year. Many other children are not as lucky as her; they live in slums where there are no facilities. Instead, they play in the dirt or are forced into child labour, rolling bidis (cheap cigarettes) for some pocket money.
Her brother, Devanand aged 14 was at the kindergarten, he now attends school. When he first started, he almost dropped out of school because he was bullied. He was born into a Dalit family, for this reason the other children taunted him and fought him; the teachers did nothing to stop them because of his low caste. With the help and encouragement of his family and the volunteer who runs the after school study class he was encouraged to stay at school. He has now overcome his problems; he participates actively at school and gets good grades. He is one of many Dalits who are getting an education so that in the future they can work to eradicate the caste prejudice from which others like him suffered.
Their mother never had the chance to attend school, as a Dalit, her family was very poor and they didn’t believe in education for girls. Although she has lived in the same slum all her life, she has seen many changes. Both her children are benefitting from the education projects run by Bahujan Hitay, she is also taking a literacy class. She is satisfied in the knowledge that her daughter Chandani will be able to attend school next year. She is looking forward to being able to help her with her homework. The family can afford to access these basic services because the fees are subsidised to a level that they can realistically afford.
For Karuna it costs just £546 to run a kindergarten for a whole year, £236 for afterschool study classes and only £66 for adult literacy classes.
