The Hindu : From begging to academics, these kids have come a long way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 18, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

From begging to academics, these kids have come a long way

By Our Staff Correspondent

The former street children (from left) Mahesh Babu, Nagaraju, Rachappa, N.Raju, and Parameshwari.

Mysore May 17. Underprivileged children they may be, but it did not prevent them from aiming for the stars.

And with intervention of an NGO, their gradual transformation from begging on the streets to that of smartly-attired schoolchildren attending a bridge course and qualifying in the public examination helped them reclaim their lost dreams, and rekindle their innate hope for a better future.

Meet Rachappa, Mahesh Babu, Ningaraju, N.Raju, and Parmeshwari. On the surface, there is nothing extraordinary about them.

Only that they were ordinary children facing an extraordinarily abominable situation in life, of begging on the streets due to poverty.

But thanks to the Rural Literacy and Health Programme's (RLHP) timely intervention they are well on their way to a secure environment of academics and play far removed from the exploitative nature out on the streets.

Rachappa from Gomatapura near Thalvadi was never sent to school by his parents. In fact, he was treated badly, and unable to bear the cruelty at home he came to Mysore in search of a dream which proved elusive and was forced to beg on the streets for survival. However, the RLHP staff sighted him and admitted him to Asha Kirana in Madapura (H.D.Kote taluk) where he was given care and love and admitted for formal schooling after the completion of non-formal education.

Thanks to the support and encouragement of the staff, he passed the VII standard public examination scoring 346 marks out of 600. Not a mean achievement considering his background and state of mind a few months ago.

Mahesh Babu from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh has a more pitiable story. He lost his parents at a tender age and was looked after by his neighbours. However, he was not sent to school but was asked to look after the children at home. With neither food nor affection or any moral support, he was forced to leave home. He came to Bangalore and then to Mysore. Before long, he was reduced to begging for a living. He too was sent to Asha Kirana, admitted for non-formal classes and within no time he was on a par with others and qualified for formal education.

Today, he can look forward to attending high school with greater confidence as he has passed the VII standard examination scoring more than 50 per cent.

Ningaraju's case is no different. He came from Nagarle village in Nanjangud taluk.

He was ill-treated by his stepmother. His father left him in a hotel to work and did not bother about his fate. But life in the hotel turned out to be hard and cruel.

Finally, Ningaraju left the hotel only to land on the streets to lead a life of a beggar.

So it was with N.Raju whose father left him in a garage instead of enrolling him in school. Life in the garage was one of exploitation and harassment and the only escape from the drudgery was begging on the streets.

Parameshwari had a relatively comfortable and secure background but things took a turn for the worse. First, she lost her father, and her mother fell ill and was unable to look after her.

So it was left to Parameshwari's grandmother to look after her and both of them sold "papad". But poverty caught up with them and Parameshwari was forced to leave her house.

It was a non-stop slide within years from the comforts of home to the uncertainty and cruelty of street life. Thanks to RLHP, she settled down at Asha Bhavana shelter home for street girls and was groomed for formal schooling.

According to Philomena Joy, Director, RLHP, Parameshwari is talented in dance and craft too.

From begging on the streets, these children have entered the portals of formal education to compete with other students.

All of them are determined to complete their education.

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