Mobile education

Door Step,set up by Beena Lashkari in 1989,also runs balwadis,study classes,and Non-Formal Education (NFE) classes for children who are unable to attend school on a regular basis.

“Several children we put in BMC schools were first-generation learners. We currently hold over 150 NFE classes in Mumbai and 150 in Pune.” she said.

These are children who have either never been to school or are school drop outs. These children manage to come to school one day but have to skip school on the other as they have to go to work. But ‘Door Step’s strategy is to run the class,irrespective of the day’s attendance.

Lashkari first came across this problem in 1988,when she was a student of MA in social work.

“ When I was doing my masters in social work,I was placed with a municipal school. Those days the school drop out rates were very high. I went on an assignment to Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar,a slum in Cuffe parade,to find out why the students are dropping out from school. That is when I realised that the slum does not just have kids,who were school drop outs,but even those who have never been to school at all. I conducted a survey and found out that there were over 500 students in that slum who skipped school. This shocked me.” Lashkari said.

She found that most of these kids go to work with their parents. Following this Lashkari and Rajani Paranjpe,a fellow social worker and a friend,started this NGO. “We would identify a slum to set up our unit,settle in a hut or shanty near by and use it as our class room.” she said.

Currently,Door Step has over 20,000 kids in Mumbai and Pune under its NFE projects. While thousands were trained and educated under this project,6,430 students were enrolled to BMC schools to take up formal education despite they not possessing required documents for admission in a school.

“Many kids are migrants,while many do not have birth certificates. In the absence of required documents these students could not get admissions in formal schools and were deprived of basic education. We at Door Step train them for two- three years and get them to appear for a formal exam at a municipal school. These kids get a proper marksheet on the basis of which they can be enrolled in the schools,” said Lashkari,adding,Door Step has set up its units in slums located in Cuffe Parade,Colaba,Sewri,Govandi and Dharavi in Mumbai,while they mostly work in educating kids of labourers at construction sites in Pune.”

With a view to educate homeless and street kids door step started a concept called ‘School-On-Wheels’. They now have five buses operating in different areas. Students are picked up from wherever they were dropped off the previous day.

“ Most of these kids are homeless,beggars,hawkers etc. They usually live on the roads or on railway stations. They keep on changing locations so it is difficult for us to set up a unit for them and that is where ‘School-On-Wheels’ works. The bus has everything from book shelves to black board and even television set. The classes are held in the vehicle itself,irrespective of it moving or parked.” said Lashkari.

One such ‘ Schools-On Wheel ‘ can be spotted in the crowded area of fashion street at Churchgate between 5pm -6pm each day. One bus caters to 125 children each day. Door Step also helps students enroll for vocational training.

Amar Mukhiya,one of the students at Door Step said,” I work as a dancer with a crew in Bollywood movies. At Door Step school we were taught to be independent. I consider myself very lucky.”

Another student Hanumanta Deora,who completed his diploma in catering technology and applied nutrition from Dadar Catering College,now works for Carnival cruise in New york. There are many others who are placed in well-known companies after completing their studies with the help of Door Step.

However,according to Lashkari,they have to confront a lot of obstacles from erratic schedule of its students to their lifestyles and their families. Still,Door Step volunteers manage to get these kids to attend school each day.