While travelling you might have seen a lot of families live under a bridge, roads etc. Ever wondered why do these kids never got into schools?
Yes, most of you guessed it right. It is due to their financial status even though the kids are interested in learning.
Haimanti Sen was one such person who used to look at the kids in the same way. Determined to make a change, Sen took it upon herself to educate the children and equip them with the necessary skills to help them get enrolled into one.
Now, Haimanti runs a unique school atop the Kandivali station skywalk where she teaches 15 kids. Not only that but to provide a holistic learning experience for these neglected children, Sen recently founded an NGO, Junoon, which strives to provide such children with an environment where they can grow to live up to their full potential.
“When I started my initiative in May 2018, the children were initially very reluctant, but I understood that they were fascinated by the English language and were eager to learn.” Sen, who was a drama teacher then, started visiting the skywalk every alternate day at around 3 pm where she taught alphabets, basic arithmetic and cognitive skills to them.
While no child had been enrolled in school yet, Sen is confident that some of them are absolutely ready and hopes that this is the year that they make a breakthrough. However, putting them into school is not the ultimate goal here, Sen said that with her NGO, she wishes to develop a conducive and sustainable structure where she can be of help to these children for the years to come.
“We try to educate children through art, music, dance, sports.” With these fun and quick exercises, these children get to experience what is rightfully theirs — a normal childhood, even if it is for a couple of hours in a week. The NGO even distributes food to the children after every session. Witnessing the joy in a child’s face when they finish a piece of art or get a dance step correct is all the motivation Sen needs to keep going. Sen’s initiative is completely self-funded, she said, and the organisation is open to accepting donations.
Here is the FB page: HumHai Junoon
