‘One person can make a difference’

This Daan Utsav, as promised We Are Listening to your stories. Today, we share Pratima Gupta’s story of educating children beyond the syllabus

‘After retirement I was looking for a way to utilise my time constructively. I always dreamt of teaching kids under a tree, devoid of any syllabus pressure but, at the same time, inculcating the aspect of ‘learning with fun’. I didn’t know where to begin. My sister introduced me to SNS, an NGO working in Sector 6, Dwarka. They opened a new centre in Amberhai Village, next to my house. I was excited and joined them from day one.

Thirty to 40 children came on the first day with unkempt hair, dirty clothes, no slippers, and mouthing abuses. I was very depressed and realised that it’s a tough task. However, I pulled myself up and began my new journey sometime in the middle of the hot summers of 2017. Today, when I look back, the unkempt hair is now combed and the abuses are nowhere to be heard. My greatest joy is when Madhu who hated Maths, stands up to say, ‘Ma’am aaj Maths karao, kal wale sums aur do, mujhe saare aate hain’, when Lakeswari says, ‘Mam maine aaj school mein My mother par para likha tha aur mujhe good mila’, when Jai Karan, who stammers and never spoke in front of anyone, gets up to say, ‘Mam maine aaj school mein 15th August ke baare mein bola tha.’ Yes I have touched their lives and that gives me a reason to smile. Only one word of caution for the people who are starting out— Be regular and patient. One person can make a difference.’

We believe that in this fastpaced world, one of the most precious gifts is the gift of your time that you can give to hear out someone’s life stories. So, dear readers, we’d love to listen to you, and share your stories with other readers, even anonymously if that’s what you want. Write to us on meandmydelhi@gmail.com