In a democracy, everyone has the right to justice, freedom, and equality. The Indian Constitution, the longest of any sovereign nation’s constitutions, offers a framework for direction and control that protects certain rights. All children between the ages of six and fourteen are entitled to free and compulsory education under the Eighty-sixth Amendment Act, which came into existence in 2002. However, there are street children who are denied their rights and lead miserable lives. There are many guardian angels for the welfare of these children.
Haimanti Sen, a graduate of Mumbai, Maharashtra, has been teaching students for the last seven years, partly as a drama facilitator and elocution trainer for different schools and partly as an afterschool teacher for primary classes. Children begging for food and money in crowded places is not unusual now, but that made Haimanti uncomfortable.
Concern for the forgotten children
She was worried that the parents didn’t know any of the schools, so she decided to visit them. However, they lied that their children went to school. After learning the facts, Haimanti tried to teach them the basics and enrol them in school.
Miserable Life Of Street Children
They lack permanent shelter and live on railway station footbridges. The seven or eight-year kids have the household responsibilities such as raising their siblings, begging with them, washing dishes and clothes, cooking food for the family and more. These children face constant abuse from society. Most girls have experienced abuse and rape before they reach adolescence.
Barriers In Her Way
After a month, Haimanti attempted to enrol these kids at a nearby school but was rejected by the authorities. She was told that these kids were untidy, didn’t have good language, were irregular in school, and their grasping ability was inferior to that of their classmates etc. The school administration also complained to her that the kids didn’t have correct names or addresses and the parents of other students never allowed them to associate with these kids.
Firm On Her Decision
Haimanti was dissatisfied with her employment and yearned to accomplish more in life. She informed her family and friends that she would educate kids on the streets after seeing them. Thus, she quit her work and devoted herself entirely to her initiative. She was looking for a safe place to teach and found the Skywalk at Kandivali station, a better place where she could educate her children.
Junoon
Thus in 2018, she and her friends founded Junoon, a non-governmental organisation that fosters a comfortable environment for underprivileged street children.
Alphabet, maths, vocabulary, art and communication were taught here. She found the most effective technique to help marginalised children and inform them about education, their potential and the possibilities ahead with their NGO.
Bringing Colours Into Their Lives
The children’s parents were suspicious of Haimanti’s motives. However, she continued her classes. Haimanti noticed the element of childishness was missing in some kids. Thus they planned picnics, celebrated birthday parties and festivals together and filled happiness in their sessions and saw the differences in their development.
The dream came true
These kids began to write their names, understood the concepts quickly and spoke English and Hindi. Some of them were good dancers, and others were good at maths. She fed them after the sessions. A year later, the first group of children joined the school. Haimanti and her volunteers made these children ready for school. They packed their lunches and dropped them off at school. That was a dream moment for them.
A School On The Street
It fueled their efforts and thus grew into more branches and increased the number of volunteers to teach the children. Since the time of covid, they have been giving rations to these children. It attracted some parents to send their children to classes. They provide daily meals after classes, monthly health check-ups, and medicines to those who need them, enrol these children in schools and complete their documentation.
Haimanti Sen decided to help the unfortunate and underprivileged children when she was 22. She taught these children the basics of schooling and prepared them to join a regular school under the Right to Education Act. She started taking classes at the Kandivali station skywalk and gradually founded her non-profit organisation, Junoon, to help others. She quit her job and is now working for them. Today they have five branches with more than eighty-five students. Haimanti now found purpose in her work and was happy to see the progress of these children. With ‘Junoon’, She is making changes and providing a better life for the kids on the streets.
Credits and Reference
https://thelogicalindian.com/uplifting/haimanti-sen-junoon-ngo-mumbai-35496