paraspara

[happened to accidentally e-unearth an old report from a few years ago – still very much valid actually]

I believe that children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

The Paraspara Trust members might not
have heard Whitney Houston’s hit song “The Greatest Love of All”, but on
visiting them, I was convinced that they indeed are living out the words. 

The pre-school creche.

The core mission of Paraspara is to help homeless children get into school. But in most schools, children are admitted to a class according to their age rather than their prior education. For instance, a twelve year old could probably be taken into the fifth or sixth standard irrespective of whether he has learnt his alphabets or not! Naturally, such children would feel lost in school and find it difficult to cope up. That is where Paraspara steps in. They focus on slums, and believe that society, starting with these very slums, should take responsibility for these children. They facilitate non-formal education for 300 children every year in 10 different slums thus preparing these kids for school. Through it’s activities, Paraspara not only rescues children from the chains of child labour, but also gives them the much needed encouragement and confidence to enter school.

Paraspara’s endeavors were of course faced with
obstacles. Initially Paraspara tried volunteers who would come over and teach
children the basics. But since the volunteers had their own time constraints
and could not be too regular, the children were often left stranded. Eventually
Paraspara came up with a better solution. They approached the children’s
mothers, and trained them! The role of the mother would mainly be to monitor
the child’s progress. For instance, they could check if the children were
regular with homework, and also help them out with basic tasks. Libraries were
set up in the slums. There was a lot of effort from the entire community to
participate in the school’s activities. Paraspara’s objective was thus to
“empower the community to take responsibility for the children”. 

A survey of the Yeshwanthpur area revealed that there were 64 girls on the
streets. There was no school exclusively for girls, and hence Paraspara started
one. MAD@HP helped funding the building by paying the initial deposit of Rs. 1
lakh. This unit has 47 children, 18 of whom have already been successfully
admitted into a nearby school! Paraspara’s success is seen in these kids; after
the pre-schooling in Paraspara, when they started off in the school, they were
found to be brighter and more active, and had greater dedication towards
learning. Even after the children are admitted in a school, a record is
maintained and the children’s progress tracked by Paraspara.

Most of the girls took to the streets because of
single parents or some domestic violence in the slums. Often, the parents did
not want the children at all, and were eager to leave them in a hostel or any
other arrangement possible. Government stopped funding, but Mr. Venkatesh, the
director, remarked undaunted saying “We are running, and we have to run, that’s
the challenge with us “. They managed to get 50% funding from BOSCO (another
similar group), and are trying to mobilize yet another 50%. They are paying Rs.
5600 per month as rent for the building.

The girls I saw at the crèche, were, just like any other child, very much in
need of love and affection. Volunteers are always welcome, as can be seen by
the warm smiles of the children who greet them.