Mission Teach Mom

Mission Teach Mom

Teens Transform A Rough Chandigarh Neighbourhood

Supriya Bhardwaj | TNN

Their parents could not write their names or take part in parent-teacher meetings. Embarrassed and unhappy, a group of nine to 15-year-old girls from the slums of Bapu Dham in Chandigarh decided they needed to do something about it. Little did they know that what began as an attempt to educate family members would turn into a mission to spread literacy.
    These 20 girls soon transformed into teachers in a colony that is infamous for drunken brawls, drug cartels, illicit liquor and prostitution. What started with 100-odd "students" ,has now become a class of 1,600.
    "We knew there was an urgent need to educate the people here. We approached a local NGO, Yuvsatta for help. The result has been heart-warming," says 13-year-old Baby, one of the children in the mission.
    The hard work has paid off. Now, Baby's mother Jai Kumari, 35, can not only sign her name but can also read names of medicines on labels — both in Hindi and English. "When my daughter began teaching me, I used to feel awkward. But she has made me proud of myself. And I love reading," she says.
    The girls, who are now hailed in their colony, have improvised along the way. When blackboards were not available, they used bits of paper as teaching tools, calling the initiative 'Playway Adult Literacy Programme'.
    "When we first began teaching people here, we focused on the women, who were invariably victims of abuse. But we changed our agenda and made it more inclusive after my father, who is a labourer, wanted to know why men were being left out. After all, the aim is to teach more people so that no one remains illiterate," says Renu, 13, another girl in the teaching group.
    For 15-year-old Ramavati, educating her father brought an unexpected dividend. He postponed plans to get her married and instead asked her to continue with her studies. "My father can now read signboards and names of streets," she says, beaming. "He says he could only become an autorickshaw driver as he was not educated that he should now do more." The programme has been replicated in colony number 5, another city slum.
    "It's amazing what these girls have achieved in such a short while," said Pramod Sharma, co-ordinator, Yuvsatta. "I am sure they will change the face of their colony. And with it, lives of the people."
    As Krishen Ram, a student and motorcycle repairman says: "It certainly feels good to be able to read and write."

FAMILY FIRST: Daughters teach their mothers the alphabet in Chandigarh