School Chalen Hum

VADODARA: They live in one of the most happening areas in the city Fatehgunj. A place that is abuzz with action right from the dawn. And, they witness this action while playing on the footpath or studying under the streetlight. You can call them street children, but they are different from the crowd. On Monday, when schools reopened, these 11 children dressed in a school uniform went to schools with bags in their hands.For them, going to school is the only excitement.
During other time of the day, one would see them in sand-soaked clothes, uncombed hair and rugged look. But when it is school time, these children wake up early in the morning, bathe in a makeshift open bathrooms, brush their teeth and put on a clean uniform. Their school bags are not kept on a fancy study table, but tucked on tree trunks to save them from the cows that often stray past their shanties.
Despite no basic comforts, these children are not bothered. Karan Bhati has been attending school for last six years and has not failed even once. "I started going to school as the thought of not being able to read or write when I grew up scared me. People would laugh at me if I ended up an illiterate. My dream is to become an engineer, to build a home for my family," said Karan, who studies in a corporation school.
His friend Dinesh Bhati, a class V student, added, "We may not be rankers, but we work hard throughout the year. During the day, we study in sunlight and in the night, it is the streetlight that we depend upon."
Ask them if they feel less privileged with absence of basic facilities that other schoolchildren get. Pat comes the reply from Munni Bahadur, a class II student, "No, we are happy studying under the streetlight. I like going to school and want to become a teacher when I grow up."
With monsoon around the corner, these children are going to face another problem. The rain water floods their shanties. "At that time, we shift to a nearby NGO building and complete our homework sitting on the staircase," said Luvkush Bahadur.
Gulab Rajput runs an NGO in the city and distributes school bags and uniforms to these children. He said, "This is the only bunch of street children whom I have seen regularly attending school."