Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

A few mats and a blackboard make a school on a city lane for 50 kids. This footpath of V Power Gym Street in the Kanakia area of Mira Road in Mumbai attracts the attention of the passers-by but the children remain engrossed in studying and oblivious of the world passing by.

The noise of passing traffic and pedestrians does not affect the privacy of students – mostly children of construction labourers and other daily wage earners – for their minds are focused on what their Yasmeen Madam says.

Yasmin Parvez Khan, a homemaker whose husband is a manager in a  global software company, has been trying to provide basic education to children in this makeshift roadside school. She has been setting it up from 3 to 5 pm every day for the past ten years. 

She is a volunteer who wants to change the lives of children who can’t afford a regular school for various reasons; she neither runs an NGO nor is affiliated with any government agency.

Yasmeen says: “One day I thought of doing something for these poor children. After much deliberation, I realized that no amount of monetary or material help will be of much use to them while education has the potential to change their lives and also impact the future of their families. With this idea, I started teaching two kids and today I have 50 of them.”

Yasmeen’s school is for slum children where they receive basic education and then for formal education, Yasmin Madam takes the children for admission to regular schools. This way Yasmeen plays an important role in initiating these underprivileged children into regular education by invoking their interests in studies and knowledge. “It takes time to get children from very poor families interested in education and getting their parents to understand the importance of education is no less than a harder task.”

Yasmeen says she doesn’t charge a fee but children need many things like notebooks, pencils, books, colours, bags, etc. She has an innovative idea for getting these needs of children fulfilled. Pointing to her blackboard, she says, “Whenever I need something for children, write it on the board and you will be surprised that within a short time, someone delivers it.”

To date, children have never had to wait more than half an hour to get their basic things for studies. She smiles and says that she feels happy to cook for children each Thursday and feed them. After seeing this, many passersby and neighbours have started bringing food and gifts for the children. This makes children very happy and adds to their enthusiasm.

Yasmeen Madam’s teaching sidewalk has neither walls nor roof, but education is complete. The first child who got his primary education from this footpath and reached school today has reached the 11th standard.

People are often inquisitive about Yasmin Parvez Khan, who wears a Burqa. People stop for a moment when they see a veiled woman teaching children on the sidewalk.

Yasmeen says that initially, even her family was not happy with her decision. “When I explained my point that she has to go to them and teach, they understood.”

She says: “Today, my family including my mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband, and my children support me.” Yasmeen Parvez Khan’s husband is a project manager at Wipro Company.

These days Yasmeen’s school is on Monsoon break. She is looking forward to the end of the monsoon and the resumption of her school.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> India / by Shantaj Khan, Pune / July 26th, 2022