Mamata

Home is the ultimate security or atleast I assumed that till I met Mamata. She is 9 yrs old and lives with her aunt and studies in Grade 1 in Koseli. She loves dancing and is passionate about her studies. It is not unusual for children of Koseli to disappear from school for long durations. But when Mamata didn’t come to school for a month we were worried and started digging for clues that were keeping her away from school. 

Mamata’s parents live in Boudha. Her father and step mother didn’t think that it was important for her to go to school. After all she is a girl and at nine years, she is  capable of doing all the house hold chores. So she was kept away from school. During that one month her father was sick, so she was also his nurse along with being the keeper of the house. Once her father was better, she expressed her desire to return to school, all she heard in return was a stern NO. As days passed Mamata missed school more and more and finally she decided to confront her father. On hearing a yet another NO, Mamata left home and came to live with her aunt who stays very close to the school. She has been very regular since then. 

Yesterday, Mamata’s aunt for some reason got very angry with her and threw her out of her house. She spent the night at a friend’s place. The problem came to our notice when she came for dance practice today. We have arranged for to stay with another family whose children also study at Koseli and tomorrow we hope to make her aunt understand the gravity of the matter and let her return home.

Mamata is not at discomfort about leaving her father’s house, being thrown out of her aunt’s house and now spending the night in a stranger’s house. Mind you, all these houses are shanty one rooms with already four, five or six members living in them. While it is impossible for most of us to even imagine leaving our homes, it is not a big deal for the slum kids to stay wherever they find space and with anyone who is willing to accommodate them. It is not a sense of security for them but a place where they spend their nights. And that is what makes them extremely vulnerable.

Winter was Setting in

The winter was setting in and everybody  was beginning to get into their sweaters and shoes. But the kids at Koseli were still waiting for their turn. I had promised them that if they return to school after Dashain and Tihaar holidays, they will get sweaters, jackets and shoes.

Rude, as it may sound the truth is that for many of them this was an added attraction. However, returning to school was not such an easy task for a lot of them.

We had to wait for 10 days before all of them turned up. Actually, we had to pester a few kids to come back to school. The school is finally resonating with the happy and gay voices of all the children. And so it was time to distribute their winter gifts.

The little ones were very excited to receive their gifts. They quickly formed a line to enable an easy distribution. It was beautiful to see how they helped each other and once all of them wore their sweaters they very cheerfully posed for pictures. All of them love being photographed and seeing themselves in pictures. I thought they looked like angels but my thought was quite short lived. The very next  moment, I saw them playing football in the ground and now they were all looked like little demons

The older kids were shy and waited very patiently for their turns. The girls, as it is their birth right, fussed over the sizes until they were happy. And before I realized they too were posing for pictures, which our dear volunteer Junu, was only more than happy to take.

Tomorrow, when they get their shoes, they will be fully equipped to face the winter and this year I know is going to be the warmest winter of their lives.
God bless all KOSELI FRIENDS who have helped to make this winter warmer for the kids.

MUKESH

Mukesh was 8 or 9 years when I first met him, 12 years ago. Having completed his first petty theft successfully, he was almost on the verge of taking to the streets of Kathmandu like hundreds of other kids who migrate to the valley from remote villages in search of a better life.

He lived with 5 other members of his family in a 6x6 feet room. Obviously till then he had not seen what a school in Kathmandu looked like from inside.

When Mukesh first went to school, the teachers were slightly confused for he was too old for pre-primary and not literate enough to be admitted in the primary section. However, soon he turned out to be a smart kid and within 6 months to the primary section. Mukesh was double promoted 2 more times. Today he is pursuing his undergrad studies in Public Health. He spends his afternoons in Koseli helping with school administration. He dreams of going to America for his advanced studies.

This is Mukesh's story. This is the story of hope. Sometimes all it takes to hold a hand to bring a metamorphosis in child’s life and fill his eyes with dreams of tomorrow.

Shikshantar Evening School

Shikshantar Evening School (also run under Shikshantar Outreach Program) runs from 4pm to 7pm. The school initially catered to children but now all the kids from the evening school have been transferred to Koseli. And the evening school is converted into an ADULT EDUCATION CENTRE for women belonging to the lowest income group.

Koseli

"Koseli" is run under a registered NGO (Shikshantar Outreach Program). It is a centre for slum and street children. Currently we have 75 kids with requests for more admissions every day.

These kids belong to the lower most economic strata of the society. Thus their biggest need is survival.

Koseli means a gift and the centre does exactly that. Our children come to school at 9am. Brush, bathe, change into school uniforms and settle down to study. At 1 pm they are served a hot, wholesome meal. They continue to study till 4pm and then have a light snack before leaving. However, from 5pm - 7pm we engage a few children in simple activities like making bags out of old newspapers, book marks etc. This is done to keep these kids away from gambling on the streets after school.

In addition to fooding, clothing, recreation and educational needs, the school also takes care of their medical needs. Our children survive in unimaginable living conditions so have a lot of medical issues and we know that there is nobody else to care of those.