By Rahul Thomas | Coordinator - Donors
Sahaara believes that every person has a dream, and our work centers around ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving their dream. Children living in Mumbai juvenile homes are one of the most marginalized children in Mumbai. Institutionalized, these children are most often from highly poverty stricken families.
As a part of the holistic intervention therein, Sahaara imparts computer education to the children between fourteen to eighteen years of age in the juvenile homes. Sahaara’s in-house computer course delivers a fitting foundation to the children preparing their skills for the technology-driven world outside the homes. The children attending the computer training get a start which will help them break out of the poverty cycle and fulfill their dreams of a stable future.
Ashok is excited to learn computers!
Ashok* is a 15 year old boy studying in the 4th grade at the DSIS (David Sassoon Industrial School) Home. Ashok’s parents died when he was very young and since then he stayed with his relatives. However, there were financial challenges as they were a poor family.
Ashok thought he could earn some money and so he started working as a rag picker near Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station in Mumbai. He was still a minor at the time. While working one day, he met one of his friends who told him about a catering job in Gujrat. Convinced with the offer, Ashok and his friend decided to go to Gujrat. While they were waiting at CST railway station for the train, some social workers observed these boys, sensed something strange, and so approached the two boys. On interrogation, they found out that the boys were minor and were running away from home for a job. The social workers brought Ashok to Dongri but his friend managed to escape. They admitted him in the Umerkhadi Observation Home. Ashok stayed there for 3 months. None of his family members came looking for him. Therefore, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) shifted him to DSIS Home. From the past 2 years, he is staying in DSIS.
Sahaara met Ashok in June 2014, when he joined Sahaara’s computer training centre that is run at the DSIS home. He was so excited to see the computer and to put his hands on it. He never thought he would ever be able to learn the computer but there he was in the Computer Training Centre! He always came to the class on time, paid full attention to what the teacher taught. He was thrilled when he first used the functions ‘Cut, Copy and paste’ on the computer. During one of the class, Ashok heard his computer teacher saying that the ‘English’ language is very important when it comes to operate the computers. Since then he has started learning English and takes the effort to understand and remember the computer terms. He also spends time practicing typing.
Ashok is a very hard working boy and is a genuine learner who earlier dreamed to just work as a labourer but now dreams to work in an office.
* Name changed to protect identity.
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