Save 1000s of Indian Children exposed to COVID

Your support of our work in India’s slum communities is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only have you supported children and their families – but you’ve empowered communities to continue protecting and supporting each other.

20-year-old Priti and 22-year-old Amna are both from families who were supported by our work during the pandemic, and now volunteer to help protect other members of their communities.

Priti’s mother is the only earning member in a family of five, while Amna is the youngest member of a large seven-sibling family. Hailing from underprivileged families where resources are few and mouths to feed many, Priti and Amna pursued formal education with immense challenges. “Right from the 9^th grade, I began funding my education by distributing pamphlets and conducting surveys for organizations” says a proud and determined Priti. Amna also shared with age-defying maturity “I gave tuitions and saved my school fees.”

Recalling their introductions to Railway Children

“My younger brother was an infant then” shares Priti. “We live adjoining the railway tracks. One day, my brother crawled upto the station and got lost in the crowd. Railway Children’s outreach members at the station helped us find my brother and reunited us with him. This was my first interaction with Railway Children. Thereafter when the team members visited our home for a follow-up, they spoke with me.

At that time, I was sitting at home after passing my 12^th grade. Sunil Dutt ji, a Community Outreach Worker, motivated me to join the team as a volunteer and contribute to the community and my own growth.”

For Amna, the first interaction with Railway Children was during our ration distribution initiative at the peak of the pandemic, when her family received pation packs to help them through such a difficult time. Sunil ji also encouraged Amna to contributing to the community by volunteering her time.

The girls now volunteer at the community’s Children’s Activity Centre.

“We began a new daily activity with children, reading out the newspaper to them. This activity has not only improved their Hindi language skill, but has also contributed to their general knowledge.” Followed by language skills, the girls also conduct activities to improve their basic arithmetic skills. No matter, the favourite part of their day remains the dance and song routine that has become a ritual at every Children’s Activity Centre (CAC).

Once done with their work at the CAC, the girls venture into the community to resolve impeding issues that families and children may be facing. These include the likes of following-up on ID card applications that link children and families with available government schemes, securing birth certificates and admission in schools. Beginning with a door-to-door outreach, the girls enquire about impending issues in every household of the community.

Unforgettable Experiences Galore

When asked about an unforgettable experience derived from their volunteering, both Priti and Amna have inspiring stories to tell.

For Priti, it was securing school admission for 6-year-old Kashi. Kashi’s mother was extremely worried about not being able to enrol Kashi in a school since his birth certificate did not feature his name, which meant that he could not be issued an Aadhar Card. Priti accompanied his mother to the concerned centre in Karol Bagh, where after multiple visits she successfully got the birth certificate printed. Thereafter, Preeti even assisted the family in getting an Aadhar Card issued for Kashi, which eventually led to Kashi getting successfully enrolled in the nearby public school.

Kashi’s mother had lost hopes of securing an admission for Kashi. Having achieved that, his mother expressed gratitude and a desire to open a bank account too. Kashi’s mother offered a small token of appreciation to Priti in exchange for all the help, but Priti refused and suggested buying stationery for Kashi instead.

Amna too has supported numerous families in the community, but the most memorable experience for her was that of helping Gulafsha. Amna insisted Gulafsha’s father to enrol her in a public school, but he kept delaying it. In the interim, Gulafsha’s age passed and the school now refused to enrol her as she had surpassed the minimum age required for enrolment. Taking stock of the situation, Amna helped connect Gulafsha to a government scheme that aids students like her re-join school. Having figured a solution and implemented it for a seemingly impossible solution gave Amna immense satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment.

Your support doesn’t just change one life, or one generation, but breaks cycles of poverty and allows whole communities to look forward to happier, brighter futures.

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