“Money should never play a hindrance when the cause is so genuine.” Quips Ranjeet Ranjan an active volunteer at “Unnoticed” when asked about how the finances are handeled. A small group of about 15 JNU student’s started this initiative in 2009, now it has been extended to almost 50 members. These selfless student’s take out atleast 3 hour’s of their time after classes, ie., from 4:00 to 7:00 pm regularly. Academic subjects like English, Mathematics, and Hindi are taught to them in a 2 room classroom provided by the JNU administrative department.While the students learn different subjects as per a time table posted on the door of the classroom, special sessions on dance, storytelling and craft keeps them busy on weekends. On a weekend, they are taught extracurricular activities like art, crafting , taikwando and different outdoor and indoor games (football, cricket ). The kid’s are also taught computer classes. The group of JNU students also look after the educational and medical needs of around 130 such children over five years of age . These kids have been able to make a conscious transition from the alleys on the streets into the four corner’s of a small neat classroom. Rishank, a 13 year old boy has found a new world out of his abode at a workers settlement in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
While his mother Kaanti bai works at a construction site on the university campus, he is busy learning the calculations of mathematics at an evening class in Teflas. Thanks to “Unnoticed”. This mini school comprises of classes from Kg till the 11th standard. This group has also been successful in admitting around 70 kids to MCD schools around Ber Sarai and Munirka. Also, the provision of a regular school bus has been made by the volunteers so as to provide them pick and drop facility from the school to the workers settlement. “Most of the construction workers are very hesitant to get their children admitted to schools, given their apprehension that the schools would not admit them citing their tendency to change places. It is a genuine concern and we try to address it by talking to the school authorities and the parents also”, says Ranjeet Ranjan. Along with providing education, the group also organizes medical campaigns to provide vaccination to the children. Health records of each child are maintained and assistance is sought from doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS). Being a non profit group, the fund’s are managed by making use of every kids talent. The
students are taught photography and their works are put on sale at photo exhibitions organized by the volunteers. Talking about their fund-raising activities, Ranjan explains, “The recent exhibition we organized got a good response from the visitors. With each print costing Rs 200, the event helped us a lot in raising funds for our activities”. Another un-conventional way of bringing in funds for this cause was by collecting old newspapers from students of Jnu and selling them off to ‘Kabadi-walas’.
Though this is just a small initiative, Ranjeet Ranjan and his members expresses their ardent wish for this noble cause to be recognized by state governments in and around Delhi so that they could somehow be funded to help more such helpless kids who have been deprived of an education. They wish for the “educated gentry” around Indian institutes to take up a similar initiative for the less privileged kids around them.
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