Young inspiration

At the Bibvewadi centre of this institution,children from the less fortunate section of society come to study,learn and enhance their skills in things that go beyond the classroom. And these students here don’t aspire to become doctors or engineers – instead,they want to become teachers like their young teachers. “Once I complete my 10 th board exam,I will start teaching here to reach out to other children,” says 14-year-old Parikshid Mandre,with a toothy grin.

Swa-roopwardhinee’s goal is to work for the welfare of society. They look at these children as the leaders of tomorrow. “We want to develop a new breed of citizens for India. If the children of our country are educated and well-nurtured,they could contribute to the development of the country,” says Harshad Kulkarni,the coordinator of the centre. “Our objective is to keep our students updated about the society we live in. We regularly discuss current issues in the classroom and also encourage them to play outdoor games in order to improve their physical fitness,” he adds.

Kulkrani,who is just 22 years old,works in a bank,and in the evening he religiously marks his presence in the school to interact with his students. How does he strike a balance between the two jobs? “It is not all that difficult. After my day’s work,I can easily take time out – usually two or three hours – for the children here. The work is extremely satisfying,” he explains.

Like him,there are many young teachers,who have taken up this noble job. One such person is Ganesh Pawar,a BCom student. This 20-year-old has a part-time day job after which he visits the centre to teach his young students.Does it get stressful,managing his studies as well as two jobs? “On the contrary,it is a real stress-buster!” he smiles. “Interacting with the kids here is recreation for me. There is one more reason why I come here. I used to lisp before and was hesitant about speaking in public. But,teaching the kids here has brought a very positive change in me. Thus,I am not only teaching,but also learning from them,” he explains.

There are many students who come here every day after their school to play with other kids and study. “I love to come here. We get to do lot of things besides studies. We play games and learn music. Many of my friends are good at playing the tabla . In school,we don’t get to do the things that we do here. It has really developed my personality and given me more confidence,” says 13-year-old Aniket Padhare,a surprisingly mature tone.