Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after….
Nostalgia sweeps in, isn't it?
So beautiful were those days, when we used to climb the staircases of our flats singing this, proudly, letting our parents and neighbors know what we were taught in the Nursery class that day!While, for some like us, if this was a sheer fun, there are a million poor hands even today, in India, actually living the ‘Jack and Jill’s ‘ life! A life which begins on the roads, a life where lullabies are seldom sung ,a life which teaches them crawl in the mud, a life which makes them walk on the hot tar of the roads! A life where the used tiers substitute the ‘Temple Run’! A tiny-life which dreams of dreaming high!I’m hereby referring to the kids of those 13 million laborers who struggle for survival. I am,here,not talking about Child-labor , but the children of the laborers! This issue is about those children who grow up watching their parents work on roads-an initial phase which would then lead to child-labor. A phase, where they aren't any benefit to their family, but just an extra consumer of their daily wage. I sound rude, but this is the bitter known fact.Just yesterday, when I was returning from my college, walking under the burning sun ,on the deserted roads, I saw a little kid, about 2-3 year old, crawling on the freshly created road to reach his mother. She was taking a nap on the other side of the road, after a tiring job. The age, when we don’t even let our kids step out on the roads, this one had to creep all the way long to spend a little time with his mom!The problem for these kids is, their parents are uneducated. And it’s lack of education that led them work on daily basis, and hence the result is poverty. Poverty implies they won’t be able to send their kids to schools, thus leading to chain of never ending problems. My question here is simple, what’s the fault of those kids? That they were born into a poor family, to uneducated parents? Why don’t we try changing the situation?
I am an engineering undergrad, studying in a 111 acre campus, with around 100+ classrooms. What’s the use? Is such a huge campus just for luring the HSc pass students? Because, once you enter, you seriously realize that you don’t need so many classrooms! After 4:00, the time when the college sessions end, the entire campus is just like a beautiful park, but, with nobody allowed to enter and admire its beauty.And,we have some or the other construction work going on every other day at our campus. We are always made to observe ‘the difficult life’. And with it, we see a few kids, watching us with eager eyes, as we walk with our bags at our back! Why don’t we utilize such campuses for teaching the kids after our college hours? Why doesn't the college take the initiative to work for the betterment of our society? The problem is not the lack of teaching facility. I’m sure,a lot many professional teachers would love to do this job, more than their regular paid job. If not the teachers, then at least we would! I have many a friends who go to teach the slum kids after the college hours or on weekends. It’s not the lack of interest, but the lack of facilities. I know it’s difficult, for the laborers are migrants, migrating in search of jobs.But,what if every university,every school, every construction firm decides to do their bit. We've already got the ‘Bakeri’ doing that.They teach the laborers’ kids when their parents are busy working for the daily bread. Aren't we ensuring,for ourselves as well as the nation,a better,prosperous future by sending them to the schools?
In case, if I win this contest, organized by ISB iDiya in association with Indiblogger,I would like to donate the prize money to Loyola evening School,a wonderful iniative by my alma mater,St.Xaviers High School,Loyola Hall.
