Every time we go to the fish market, we can spot some of those street children
who try to snatch fish from right under those fisherwomen's nose, try to sell
and earn enough to buy themselves a small meal. It's like an everyday thing for
all of us who give a shrug of the shoulder and move on.
Several decades ago, Mangala Wagle, like many others her age then, found
herself married while still pursuing her high school education. She remembers
how life then was no different from a normal housewife's.
But that changed in 1996 when her family's fish business brought her to the
market in Panaji. Each morning she was witness to those street
children-fisherwomen fight. Each time there were tears in her eyes and sympathy
in her heart, but unlike the hundreds of others who were witness, she did not
turn a blind eye. Wagle decided to come to their rescue, although she had no
magic wand in hand.
"It was pointless telling those fisherwomen to stop beating them up," recalls
Wagle, who instantly started to wonder what best she could do to make their
lives better.
"Merely giving them food was not the solution. The least I could do was to
educate them. Only education could help them fight all their problems and take
them far in life," said Wagle.
Wagle, along with two other friends, started gathering the children in the fish
market when the usual business was done. She began introducing them to the
alphabet, even as those strange glances from all around were a complete
distraction.
The next stop for her-and the ever increasing street children population-was
the Children's Park at Campal; next was the Old GMC complex, until Hamara
School took shape in 2001 inside two government apartments at St Inez.
Hamara School now takes care of 80 street kids, most of whom are children of
construction workers and other labourers growing up on the streets unattended
or those from poor families who have been forced into work. Some of them are
also orphans.
Hamara School, which has placed all these children in regular schools in and
around Panaji, also provides shelter to 43 of them. The rest are allowed to
return home to their parents-but only in the evenings when their studies have
been taken care of.
"It was difficult to persuade the children to join us at the start. Parents
were a big hindrance as these children meant added income for the family," said
Wagle, who even at 80, could put any woman half her age to shame with her
enthusiasm and dynamism.
The stumbling block was not just the parents. Lack of funds, as in most
charitable ventures, was another concern, but efforts of her nephew, who works
for a UN agency, in securing an initial grant of Rs 2 lakh from the United
Nations got the project alive and kicking.
Ever since, as generous private donors started knocking at the St Inez
apartments, Hamara School has been in the comfort zone. Wagle, too, abandoned
her business and diverted all her energies towards the school.
It is pertinent to note that even though the school functions under the
Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, which provides support to
organizations such as Hamara School in terms of infrastructure, and covering
funds-deficit, Wagle had never had to look for their support to bail them out.
"I prefer to manage the school with whatever funds we receive from donors. The
time that I would have spent chasing government officials for funds can be
better utilized in support of the school," she reasons.
Three teachers, two cooks, a helper, two wardens (one each for boys and girls)
and one administrator are enough to take care of the school, of course with
Wagle always at hand. Ten volunteers also play their part, ensuring that
Wagle's dream of seeing the street children complete their education does not
stutter or fail. Interestingly, this year is extremely important for Hamara
School as its oldest member, a 15-year-old girl, will become the first to
complete her schooling since the school was founded at the turn of the century.
Even though most of the children are doing well, Wagle points out that they
still do not find acceptance among their peers. Most, if not all of them, are
often left without friends in the privately managed schools that they attend.
"Disciplining these children is another problem that we have to encounter.
Those residing with us tend to get influenced every time new children step in,"
she said.
According to the teachers, one of the early challenges at the school was the
constant illness that greeted children. Not surprisingly, the struggles that
these children have had to face on the streets were taking a toll, sooner or
later. This, though, has been solved to a large extent as providing them with
nutritional food is as vital to the institution as providing them with quality
education.
"The children are sent home only during summer holidays. Very often, parents
take them to their native place and do not bring them back on time, prompting
these kids to lose touch with their studies," said Wagle, adding that parents
are kept informed thanks to the parents-teacher interactions, held at least
once a month.
There is much more to Wagle than just Hamara School and children's education.
She has also started projects to empower women in her place of birth, Canacona.
Wagle has set up farm projects there so that women who can't leave their homes
to take up employment elsewhere can get gainful employment at home itself.
It is no secret that Wagle learnt the lessons of life differently. She pursued
her education through correspondence after her marriage making her realize its
importance.
"The gap between the middle class and the poor is increasing. This can upset
our society's balance if the educated class does not do something about it,"
she says.
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