This Pravasi’s dream: Banish illiteracy

‘‘What made it meaningful was the fact that Pratham shows results from little money,’’ says Dr Patel, one of the donors from the United States. Now, Pratham reaches out to two lakh underprivileged children in 30 Indian cities. Providing pre-school education to 3-5 year olds and tutorials for children in the age group of 6-11 years, the NGO also provides basic healthcare. ‘‘Our schools, may not have walls or toilets but they have one caring soul,’’ says Yogi Patel, talking of the contribution of Pratham’s 10,000 teachers — local women who have completed Class X are trained as balwadi teachers.

Vandana Khurana, a 27-year-old teacher in Delhi’s Trilokpuri slums, who is working at Pratham’s Pravasi Divas stall says she feels a sense of empowerment after becoming a balwadi teacher. ‘‘Four years ago, I could not step out of my home, burdened with an alcoholic husband who physically abused me,’’ she says. ‘‘Now I feel proud when I step out with my two children, and everyone looks upto me as a teacher in the community.’’ She visited the US in 2003, as part of a fund-raising campaign. Pratham, as Yogi Patel says, does not take away the children from their surroundings. The NGO sends teachers to the slums, to teach the kids in their hours after work. ‘‘We work not as an alternative but towards improving the efficiency of governmental investment,’’ says Patel. Having raised $ 1.5 million last year, he says, their aim is to ensure the cycle of illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation is broken.