School provides hope to India's street children
July 7, 1996
Web posteed at: 8:25 p.m. EDT (0025 GMT)From CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief Anita Pratap
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Five-year-old Hussain and his family sift through garbage, looking for bottles, papers and plastics that can be recycled. It's a typical scene for a homeless family in India.
On an average day, the family brings in between 30 and 60 rupees, the equivalent of $1 to $2; little Hussain contributes earnings of about 6 cents from picking rags.
To help ends meet, the father often steals, winding up in jail where police allegedly beat him. The police are said to sometimes take out their aggression on Hussain.
But Hussain is well on his way to a more rewarding life -- thanks to a private group called Prayas School, or Endeavor. Prayas helps educate and feed street urchins and others of India's poor. Prayas social workers are teaching Hussain reading, writing and other skills.
"They have got freedom from garbage picking and dirty work," said Damyanti Sharma with Prayas. "They are clean now and can look forward to a decent life."
Hope for 6,000 children
Working with an annual budget of $100,000, Prayas hopes to rescue impoverished children from a life of starvation, disease and crime. In the past eight years, the program has given 6,000 children a much-needed boost.
Prayas teaches children trades. Boys learn to repair motor scooters; girls sew clothes, make candles and style hair.
The experience gives the children a renewed future.
"I can open a beauty salon at home and earn some money, which will be very useful," said student Neetu Pal.
Her father, Satya Pal, a street vendor, smiles broadly when talking about Neetu's accomplishments: "My daughter need not go hungry. She can open a shop, get a job and earn for herself."
Amod Kumar Kanth, the founder of Prayas, is a senior police officer in New Delhi.
"I love being a policeman, but to be a man of the type who can look after children gives far more satisfaction," he said.
Hussain wants to be a policeman when he gets older. Thanks to Prayas, Hussain may end up on the right side of the law.
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