Model School in Sundarban

Sundarban is the largest delta in the world comprised of several islands. During post-independence period, Sundarban witnessed sudden influx of population, mainly due to migration. It exerted negative impact on the economy of the population in the region. Backwardness of the region is due to the following factors:

• Uncontrolled population growth with low income level
• Lack of large scale employment opportunities
• Lack of transport and communication facilities and hence, the villages or the islands are not well connected.
• Lack of medical facility, public health care and proper sanitation.
• Occasional devastations by cyclonic storms.

Social malice such as, Child labour, child marriage, human trafficking, to name a few, is prevalent in this region due to extreme poverty. Due to acute poverty, the population struggle to survive and sustain and it is mainly, the children who are being neglected the most.  They are deprived of a proper childhood, basic education and medical care facilities. The parents do not encourage their children for education; rather they send them for work in hotels, stalls and domestic work at households in the cities. Therefore, school dropout incidents are common in this area. The children are often trapped by pimps and traffickers and they become the victims of physical and sexual abuse. Hence, the children become vulnerable to various diseases due to lack of proper parental guidance, poor nutrition and hygiene.

Sabuj Sangha believes that children are the change agents of society and they should have access to education for making a change in the society. Therefore, Sabuj Sangha, chases the dream of a society where no child will be deprived of his fundamental right to education along with proper food of adequate nutritional value. One of the core activities of Sabuj Sangha, is to run the residential home for the first generation learners and victims of child labour. The children are provided with proper educational support and guidance along with proper food of adequate amount of nutritional value for their healthy living. The children are even encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities like sports, art & crafts, etc. irrespective of gender, in order to promote gender equality amongst children.

Sandip is a 13 years old boy studying in class –VII in Sabuj Sangha’s upper primary model school i.e. Kishalay Shishu Shiksha Niketan (KSSN). He is a boarder of the residential home run by Sabuj Sangha. His father’s name is Arun and his mother’s name is Late Sarathi. He belongs to Digambarpur village in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. He belongs to a socio-economically marginalised family where they could not afford a proper meal for a day, for which the father, Arun sent Sandip to work at a hotel in the city. The team of Sabuj Sangha rescued recovered Sandip and brought him in the residential school and from there he has been mainstreamed into KSSN.

With the proper guidance and support from the teachers, Sandip has shown considerable improvement in studies. Earlier, Sandip paid less attention in class and often, was found irregular and less motivated towards studying. But with proper counselling and monitoring by KSSN teachers and staffs, he has changed his behavior for the better. Now, he even engages himself in various co-curricular activities like essay writing, music, sports, etc

With appropriate amount of food containing adequate nutritional value, Sandip is growing both physically and intellectually. 

Sandip says: “I am very happy to stay here. I am highly grateful to Sabuj Sangha for rescuing me from the hotel where I was treated very badly, even with no meals a day. Here, in this home, I am getting good food three times daily. The teachers are very good and friendly. They always help me out when I am in doubt and take care to check my studies. I have made so many friends here. We play together every day and it gives me a sense of belongingness.”