Path finders

“It all started in 1991,when the construction of our building was yet to be undertaken. While inspecting the area around,we heard some of the children using abusive language. We called them and started indulging them in activities such as story telling,games and so on. The whole effort was to direct them to do good work,” says Swami Aryanand of Ramkrishna Math.

What followed as a result of years of efforts was the formation of Balak Sangh that today has a separate library,projector,screen and a hall. With numerous activities such as personality development,film and documentary viewing,studies,painting and so on,the Sangh boasts of hundreds of students who are regular members at the events at Ramkrishna Math.

“This is our responsibility towards the society. These enrolled students get free coaching for subjects like mathematics,English along with access to library,study room,computer room and so on. Our job is to help them and when the same students grow up and become engineers and doctors,they come back to us and teach here. That we believe is the real fulfillment of our job,” adds he.

Having witnessed the dark side of life during their life at the slums,the children have their own stories too. “Both- me and my brother used to regularly consume gutka and alcohol. We came here a few years ago and now we know that both these habits are extremely bad. Today,we are good students and know how to differentiate between good and bad,” says Shrikant Somase,a standard six student.

‘The principle here is simple- No person is good or bad. What makes someone take up wrong things in life are their circumstances and surroundings. So what we do at the Balak Sangh is that we isolate them from the bad surroundings. Similarly we impart in them the knowledge that helps them decide what is right and what is wrong. Our experience says that the lotuses are created out of mud. We just need to recognize them and nurture them further,” smiles Aryanand