It all started with just a casual talk with one of my friends, who volunteers for Jaagriti. She asked me to come along someday, so I did. What I saw was a bunch of adorable and confused children, sitting on the floor, right under the nose of sun. These were not 5-6 children, they were more than 25. Just think about yourself, after a week full of college work and jobs, we just want to sit at home and relax. But these children, some of them go to school and they come for classes even after school and there they are on a Sunday morning, studying again. Never have I seen such dedicated and determined set of children.
I took up Science and General Knowledge, because when I was a kid, my main interest was only in these subjects, I was hooked. Now even after about 10 years, these subjects remain the most interesting to me. I vouched to come thrice a week for an hour or two. My first class had about 20 children, most of them aged more than 10 years and my first topic was Pandit JawaharLal Nehru and these children were listening so intently to every word I said. That was when I knew that I can take this further. So after a week full of boring Gandhis, came India. It was like magic, they wanted to know more and more about india. We did not have maps in the room, but I made them understand about neighboring countries through a very badly drawn Indian Map. Don't worry, we have one now. A good big one.
These children just need a little inspiration to move forward, so Jas and I decided to ask them to make drawings of everything they want to be in future or anything they think of. Come now to the site and you'd see a room full of drawings rather than a dull grey room. One of the children, Usha made solar system only keeping in mind how I drew it on board. Such is the imagination they have. You tell them about something, and it inscribes in their minds instantly. I hope children remain as good as they are and continue to grow. As for me, I have found my calling. All thanks to them!
- Pranjal
I took up Science and General Knowledge, because when I was a kid, my main interest was only in these subjects, I was hooked. Now even after about 10 years, these subjects remain the most interesting to me. I vouched to come thrice a week for an hour or two. My first class had about 20 children, most of them aged more than 10 years and my first topic was Pandit JawaharLal Nehru and these children were listening so intently to every word I said. That was when I knew that I can take this further. So after a week full of boring Gandhis, came India. It was like magic, they wanted to know more and more about india. We did not have maps in the room, but I made them understand about neighboring countries through a very badly drawn Indian Map. Don't worry, we have one now. A good big one.
These children just need a little inspiration to move forward, so Jas and I decided to ask them to make drawings of everything they want to be in future or anything they think of. Come now to the site and you'd see a room full of drawings rather than a dull grey room. One of the children, Usha made solar system only keeping in mind how I drew it on board. Such is the imagination they have. You tell them about something, and it inscribes in their minds instantly. I hope children remain as good as they are and continue to grow. As for me, I have found my calling. All thanks to them!
- Pranjal
