Education for 600 Vulnerable Children in Kolkata

What if Tiljala SHED did not run education centres in 5 of Kolkata’s most deprived communities?

See this report from Parveen, programme co-ordinator at Tiljala SHED:  “Sajjat is a 16-year-old boy residing in a slum beside the railway track near Park Circus in Kolkata, India. He is studying in Kazi Nazrul Islam High School Class X. His father is a casual labourer and his mother is a maid servant.

His father does not get regular work. He is an alcoholic and most of the money he earns is wasted on addiction. The family is dependent on the income of his mother which is not adequate. Very often the family has to compromise on food intake.

Sajjat had become a rag picker and had stopped attending school. We counselled him and his family especially his father on the importance of education. Sajjat realized his mistake and rejoined school. Now he is regularly attending school. His father was insisting that he should continue working to support the family. But he did not agree with his father. He wants to study. Besides attending school he also attends evening classes the Topsia Coaching Centre.  Sajjat is doing well in studies and has a special aptitude for drawing and painting. He is also good in sports.” 

441 children aged between 5 and 18 who live in five of Kolkata’s most marginalised communities attend classes outside school hours run by Tiljala SHED and paid for by you. Sajjat is one of these children.

I have been doing a thought experiment – what would life be like for those children if they did not have this opportunity?

Over the last 2 years of the pandemic NONE of the primary aged children (147 girls and 116 boys) would have had ANY education at all as government schools were continuously closed in Kolkata from March 2020 to February 2022.

In fact our centres remained open throughout all but the severest lockdowns providing these 263 children with a routine, remedial classes every weekday, nutrition and attention to their rights and their health and their safety. We have helped keep these children, who are highly vulnerable to dropping out, child labour and child marriage, on the path to literacy and a better future.

For the older children aged 11-18, 124 girls and 54 boys, secondary schools did open, but only for a few weeks and only for youngsters in classes 10, 11 and 12. There was no school for classes 6 – 9. Without our education centres many of these children would, like Sajjat, have drifted away from education. Many families fell into hunger and destitution because the breadwinners were unable to go to work. Even beggars and ragpickers were swept from the streets. Street vendors, maidservants, rickshaw drivers, factory workers - all daily wage earners – couldn’t work for months and their families went hungry.

But because of Tiljala SHED’s Education centres and our programme of educational support, we were able to supply smartphones to all the youngsters who needed them to access their education online. These 178 youngsters attended daily classes throughout and have stayed motivated to continue and get their qualifications. These are communities where passing board exams is unheard of, let alone going on to higher education, but this year we expect to see our first cohort do just that. There are 4 boys and 5 girls in class XI or XII with big ambitions. Without our education programme, the girls would be married, bearing children, illiterate and hopeless and the boys would be labouring, driving rickshaws or even joining gangs.

These 9 are just the start and will be an inspiration to the rest.

Thank you for supporting this programme. You have brought promise and hope to all.

You can support a primary age child for just £11 a month and a secondary school student for £30 a month.