We will end the trek challenge by visiting the Arunodhaya Centre, one of ICT's partner organisations to meet the children whose lives we are helping the Arunodhaya Centre to change.
Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children
Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children is a local NGO, based in Tamil Nadu, which was established in 1992 with the aim of preventing the exploitation of children and protecting their basic rights. ICT has been working in partnership with Arunodhaya since February 2009, supporting its work in Dindigul District in the south of Tamil Nadu. This important work aims to prevent children leaving home prematurely, as well supporting those children already living and working on the streets. Arunodhaya’s work includes childcare support and maternal healthcare for women in remote rural areas, rehabilitation and reintegration of street and working children, and a number of awareness raising and advocacy initiatives.
Satindra and Arunodhaya
Arunodhaya runs a number of Community Education Centres within urban slum communities, which provide supplementary tuition and basic literacy and numeracy skills to children who are either struggling at school or do not currently attend school, particularly for those children whose parents must work during the evenings. Satindra (12 years old) is one of hundreds of children who attend these centres.
Below Satindra describes his life and the impact that the Community Education Centre has had on it.
“My parents are going to construction work for a daily wage of Rs.80 (£1) per day. They did not complete even their primary education. I have one elder sister aged 17 who is working in the spinning mill and one elder brother aged 15 working in an automobile service shop. I am the third child and I have one younger sister aged 10 who comes with me to my school. Every day me and my elder brother get up in the morning and fetch some water from the pump near by. Before we finish fetching the water, mother and sister prepare some food for breakfast. My elder sister helps my younger sister and me get ready for school before she goes to work. Since my family is in debt, my elder sister and brother did not study and are going to work. After noon both of us have food in the government mid-day meals scheme. I am studying in 6th standard in the government middle school at Chettinayakkanpatti, 1km away from home. I always used to fail in two subjects (English and maths) before I came to the Community Education Centre.
When my friends went to the centre, I was also interested. One Saturday, in the centre, the teacher conducted games and drawing competitions, I was curious about it. A few days later I went to the centre and at that time the teacher was teaching about various flags of different countries showing a chart - I had never been told about all of this at my school so I started coming to the Community Education Centre. Then I found that every day the teacher helps us with our homework and once a week there is a general knowledge class, where she teaches us about world flags, different countries, about Dindigul district, roads in India, tourist spots in India etc. Now I am attending regularly.
My family members come home late after their work so I used to play in the streets and in my slum area. There is only one bulb light at our house and if we study in it at dark my eyes were paining. But in the centre we have tube lights and I can see properly. In my house me and my sister will sit all alone and study, but in the centre my class mates will also be studying and the teacher will clear my doubts if I ask questions and she also encourages me to complete my homework. She is also helping me with my English and maths after seeing my low marks. Some children whose parents can afford to pay money for extra tuition classes go to their own school teachers, but my parents hardly get money to pay our school fees, so we come to this centre, but I think we study better than those children.
Before I joined the centre, my friends and I would waste our time in the streets and watch television in nearby homes. But now we play for some time and then go to the centre. I just passed all my subjects and got 70 marks in maths, which I used to fail before; even my class teacher appreciated it. Earlier I used to think that if I had money I would also go to extra-tuition and study better, but now through Arunodhaya’s Community Education Centre, I am able to get better marks than the children who pay to go to tuition centres. Apart from that I also think that I can achieve more in my life if I study well. I will also become a teacher and teach poor children without getting fees.”