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An ACT of kindness
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ACT is a voluntary organisation on a mission to provide education to poor children
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Trapped dreams need only a little window to take to the skies
"I WANT to be a doctor," says 15-year-old, bright-eyed Ashwini. Smartly dressed in her school uniform, this cheerful girl is nervous about her forthcoming 10th Standard examinations. The entire locality pins hope on her. Ashwini, who comes from a family of all girl children, has seen her parents waiting anxiously for the birth of a son. And ever since, she has always wanted to make a point to the world, and more importantly, to herself, that girls can do better what boys can do. But how did this girl from the Ulsoor slums reach the Ambujammal High School?
Three years ago, a young woman, Sujata Mukherjee, set out on a mission to identify one girl child whose education she could sponsor. That turned out to be Ashwini. Later, Ms. Mukherjee,a systems executive, set up a trust named after Ashwini, and has called it Ashwini Charitable Trust (ACT). Ms. Mukherjee and six other similar thinking women from Bangaloreare the trustees of ACT, and they look after the education of 40 children from the Ulsoor slums.
Gradually, they realised that just paying the fees wasn't enough, but it was important to see the children through to the very end.
In just a span of three years, an activity that had sprung from a private initiative grew to such huge proportions that it became imperative to build a corpus fund. The trustees of ACT decided that it was pointless to keep a gender divide between these children. The girl child needs to be educated for she often works proxy for her mother, but the male child too needs the same kind of attention. The male child has to be made sensitive to the needs of other people, particularly women. Secondly, the atmosphere at home has to be conducive to studying. This issue was addressed by enrolling the siblings of the chosen students. The resistance from parents too had to be addressed. What came next was the need to provide these children with alternative role models. These children would continue to replicate the lives led by their parents for lack of a better choice. Today, Act works with the aim of providing not just education, but a holistic atmosphere for growth. Kala Devarajan, one of the trustees who worked as a chartered accountant for 12 years, says it takes only Rs. 2 a day to educate a child. "These children pay a fee of Rs. 750 a year, and that is also how much we spend on pizza for our children," she says.
Their efforts have met with small success. Thirteen-year-old Guruprasad was so thrilled that he secured 53 out of 100 in Mathematics that he aims to get "a full 100 on 100 next time". Sowmya, a shy and quiet child when they first saw her, now volunteers to take responsibility to communicate on behalf of other children. These visible changes have spurred the ACT trustees to expand the nature of their involvement with children. They would like to set up a resource centre with a library, television, VCP, music system, and a computer. This would also give them a space to work out of their homes, which is what they do right now.
It is their dream to see several such centres come up in other parts of the city. And ACT is willing to help. All that ACT needs you to do is identify a school close to where you live, and it will lead you on from there. "If we can get volunteers prepared to spend just an hour a week, it will make a huge difference to the lives of these children," says Ms. Mukherjee.
As Ashwini and Sowmya take their major exam this year, the trustees and volunteers are on tenterhooks, wishing for the best.
If you wish to know more about ACT or wish to be a volunteer/donor, you may contact 8525534.
MEENAKSHI SHIVRAM
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