Why It's Worth It
In my last blog entry, I discussed how finally working with children has infused my work with a newfound optimism and hope. Well, the organization I’m working for, Akanksha, runs schools for underprivileged children, many of whom reside in slum dwellings. As a volunteer in the classroom, I’m supposed to be a “bhaiyya,” essentially helping out with whatever the instructor needs help with. For the last week, we’ve been working at a center at the Xavier’s School. The center is a Beyond School Center, meaning that it is catered for high school age children. The goal of the program is to sharpen the reading and math skills of the students while helping them grapple with the sensitive issues of adolescence. Our expectations going into the center were minimal; we knew we would be involved with the kids, making presentations on occasion, commenting on their work, and helping out when the kids broke into small groups. And in essence, our predictions as to our classroom roles were met, although I could never have fathomed how invested I would become in not just the educational progress of these kids, but their lives as well.
It has only been a few days, but I feel like I’ve known these kids for so long. This is a testament to the teacher’s ability (Anjali “didi” is how we refer to her) to seamlessly incorporate us into the natural flow of the classroom routine, which has essentially rendered “transitional friction” a complete non-factor. So for much of the first few days, we’ve been doing individual readings with the kids. We would pull each of the kids aside one at a time, ask them to a read a passage to us followed by comprehension questions about the reading and finally meanings of difficult words in the excerpt. This was an excellent way to get to know the kids. Naturally, one can quickly get an idea of the child’s verbal and reading skills, but I made it a point to get much more out of it. Although we’re not supposed to speak Hindi with them, as soon as they finished reading, I’d break out a lame Hindi joke with them, just to put them at ease. The key in my mind, was to make the curiosity two-way; obviously, I was curious about their backgrounds and their experiences, but I wanted them to be equally as curious about mine. So showing that I knew a little Hindi was a great conversation starter for them, as it would lead to discussions about my family, about Bollywood, and about life in general. So our one-on-one meetings were extremely casual, consisting of as much chit-chat as substantive evaluation. Thus, the “evaluations” were an opportunity for me to show that while I’m technically there to advance their English fluency, I’m their friend before anything else.
In my next entry, I will chronicle the specific children who have made an impact on me, as well as their wonderful teacher, Anjali. But in considering the kids as a whole, they are absolutely amazing. The first day we went to the center, Anjali showed us a book with their pictures and stories. Some of the circumstances these children have to face are absolutely horrific. It’s sad enough when we macroscopically study “poverty” and the resultant social, political, and economic consequences. But as soon as that becomes personalized, and we have the opportunity to know actual people who deal with similar circumstances on a day-to-day basis, especially children, it becomes all the more potent. But these kids are resilient. So resilient. Despite difficulties at home, they manage to go to primary school from 7a-2:30p, these supplemental centers run by Akanksha from 2:30p-5:30p, AND earn money for their families somehow. Not to mention, they have to commute over an hour to and from their homes each day. But what impresses me most is not that these kids can trudge through their days; but they do so with such cheerfulness, such optimism, and such energy that you can’t help but be stunned. And after seeing this kind of hope emanating from these children, how can I help but not feel hopeful myself?