Educate 3000 Marginalised Slum Children in Odisha

Kiran (not her real name) is a 14 years old girl of Nayagarh Basti (Slum) living a life of abject poverty. Her father is working as a daily labour. Education was a distant dream for her and her siblings. Though her name was enrolled in government school, she was almost dropped out and was engaged in household chores. Identified by our Remedial teacher of BPCL Sikshya Centre, she was enrolled in Remedial Education Centre. This encouraged her to go to school regularly and participated in different co-curricular activities. With her commitment to education and other school activities, Ruchika is proud of her. In the painting competition organized in the Kidz Carnival she stood first and in the Jana Jati Krida organized by Govt. of Odisha she was awarded with First prize in High Jump and First in 100 Mtrs. Sprint. Kiran is now a role model for her slum children. There are lots of Kirans in different slums with hidden talents. It needs only identifying them, counsel, encourage and groom them to excel.

Ashis (not his real name) is a 12 years old boy of Saliasahi slum who is able to break the barrier of deprivation with his passion for life and strong aspiration to progress. Recently he was awarded for his Science Model being exhibited in a State level Science Exhibition of Kalinga Foundation Trust, Odisha.

Some years ago, Ashish was not even able to think of completing his primary education. Growing up in a family home – a room made of sheets of tin and plastic in the Saliasahi slum. He used to have to wait in line for hours for water and leaking roofs were the least of his family problem. He went to a nearby government school where most of his friends are from poor families. His father, mother and he himself work in a small grocery shop cabin placed at the middle of the slum for just two square meals a day. Education was a distant dream for Ashis. The acute poverty and deprivation in the family was about to push him through a life of a child labour. Being a student of the Ruchika Remedial Education Centre he was inspired by the Teacher of "Science on Wheel" project. Then his performance in the school was rapidly grown.

“I would not allow my country to be ruined for a drop of water in future. I will create a most effective mechanism for optimal use of every drop of rain water so that no one will suffer from the scarcity of water. This model is (showing his science model) just a snapshot of my dream project which will put the mechanism in place to use the rain water to make electricity, prepare kitchen garden, channelize the water for agriculture, use it for toilet and washing of dishes and discharging the balance water to ground to enrich ground water source and make to  ready to be used for drinking water” – Says Ashis , the aspirant little Scientist.

Now Ashis study in Class – VIII and works as a role model at Salia Sahi slum, put all his effort to counsel his friends to go to school. He says “ Education can only bring a change in our slum”.