Education for 100 street children in India

Devendra and Ranjana have been two of AIC's students since not long after the Education Outreach Program's inception. They are the oldest two of their parents' four children; Ranjana is 14 and Devendra is 18. Both are still in primary school. 

For years, Ranjana and Devendra were shuffled through the mainstream Indian government school system, held back in the same class year after year, because with IQs in the low 40s, their intellectual handicaps make it impossible for them to keep up with their classmates. After the Right To Education (RTE) Act was implemented in 2009, including the mandate that no student be held back or expelled until the completion of elementary education, the schools had no choice but to promote them, yet as their peers learned to write compositions and add fractions, Ranjana and Devendra struggled to write letters and numbers and were generally ignored by indifferent government school teachers. Although they loved attending tuition classes at AIC, had excellent attendance, and participated enthusiastically in activities and extracurricular opportunities, it was clear that they were falling through the cracks in a 'mainstream' school. 

For several years, we at AIC have attempted to convince Ranjana and Devendra's parents to allow us to enroll them in a specialized school, so that their needs could be addressed more comprehensively, but fear, prejudice and community misperceptions always stood in the way and their parents refused to grant permission. This year, however, a dedicated AIC volunteer, Rinku, took it upon herself to get Devendra and Ranjana enrolled into a more appropriate educational institution, no matter what it took. After many hours of hard work, including tours of schools, phone calls, counseling Ranjana and Devendra's parents, and running around to line everything up, Ranjana and Devendra were successfully enrolled in Kamayani School for the Mentally Handicapped in June. 

Since then, they have truly blossomed at their new school.  In the last couple months, Ranjana and Devendra have earned certificates of achievement in maths, handwriting, and class participation, and Devendra was even featured in the local newspaper recently! 

Their parents, initially fearful of sending their two eldest children to a school for students with special needs, have seen the transformation since June and are thrilled that they have adapted well and are finally receiving the educational services that they deserve. Ranjana and Devendra are still familiar sights around the Education Outreach Centre, of course, and everyone at AIC is tremendously proud of their progress in these last few months!