Dreams of a better life help them stay in school

CHENNAI: Lalitha (23) is a BA degree holder who is now waiting for her BEd results, but don’t brush her off as just another graduate, she is actually a shining example of what opportunity can do to a person—no  matter how humble their beginnings could be.Lalitha was born on the pavement near Minerva Theatre, Broadway. This third generation pavement dweller studied under street lamps with speeding vehicles and trampling crowds passing by, but not once did she consider dropping out of school.Motivated by her father, who is a daily wage labourer, and supported by the free tuition offered by the church nearby, she remained inspired to become a teacher. “While most of the children in my community usually drop out after class eight, I continued to study, thanks to the motivation given by my father,” Lalitha said. “My mother left us when I was a child, but my father did extra work to keep me in school and to meet all my needs. My father used to tell me that if I study well, my life would be better. I would be able to live in my own house.”It is this dream that has been pushing Lalitha to scale the walls of adversity, something that she owes her father for instilling in her. Sadly, not everyone is as lucky as her. A student of Anderson Day Girls Higher Secondary School, Mannady, Lalitha later went to Bharathi Women’s College and did her graduation in geography. She then applied for a BEd course in few Teachers’ Training Colleges in the city and is now waiting for the results with hope.“I feel poverty and family situations are the major reasons that homeless children who live on the roadside drop out of school. I was lucky to have a father who motivated me to study. I’m thankful to the free tuitions given by the church nearby which really helped me to do well. These children are intelligent and are interested in studies. I am 100 per cent sure, given an opportunity, all these children will do well in studies,” said Lalitha. In the evenings, Lalitha offers free tuitions to the children on her pavement. A proud teacher, she says, “All the children who come to my tuition pass in all the subjects. They just need some guidance.”ActionAid, an NGO working among the homeless, is now conducting the week-long Wall Street Campaign to bring dignity to the pavement dwellers and has carried out a sample survey of 2,500 families who are pavement dwellers. This 2010 study points out that 75 per cent of children of pavement dwellers drop out of school in the age group of 15-18.Vanessa Peter, Programme Officer of ActionAid said, “In my work with the pavement dwellers, I have seen many kids who have lot of aspirations. Seeing the city prosper, with well dressed office-goers walking on the pavements and driving bikes and cars, these children also dream that some day they will also be able to do it. Even children who had dropped out of school, want to go back to school.”For 17-year-old Sumathy, who lives near Kandaswamy Koil near Chennai Central Station, life took a turn when her father deserted the family. To support her family of two younger sisters and a brother, she dropped out of class eight and started working in a screen company.“I did not want to stop going to school, but my family situation was such that I had to drop out. I want my brother and sisters to continue schooling and have a better life, but I am also worried because till Class Eight, we all go to the Corporation school (Chennai School). But after that, the schools ask for fees. I don’t know if I will be able to support my siblings’ education after that.”Deepa (13), who lives on the pavement near the Evening Bazaar area, dropped out of school to take care of her sick mother and is now back to school. She said, “My father left us. My mother, a flower seller, fell very sick. So, to support my mother and my little brother, I dropped out of class seven.”Deepa, who dreams of becoming a doctor, said, “I want to study well and become a doctor and help people like us, who live on the road side. I want to tell other children like me to study well and to do well in life so that one day we will live in our own homes, and not on the roadside.”