A special Sunday - Jagaran

Well Sundays will be Sundays and Indian Cricket team will be Indian cricket team. Yet another lame loss and snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory. The same pugnacious Dhoni who refuses to own up to his own mistakes and continues to play the blame game.
But that is not what I want to write about here. Last Sunday was special coz I had an amazing experience. As part of Jagaran (the awakening) (http://www.jagaran.org.in) , I, along with some others, went for the mid-term evaluation of beneficiaries. A little background information: Jagaran, an NGO, was set up in 2006 by Infoscions - mainly JU passouts. It seeks to provide a platform for poor but meritorious students to live out their dreams. Jagaran financially supports aspiring students, mainly school students. Other activities include career related coaching, mentoring, development of school infrastructure, spreading awareness about environmental protection, etc. There are already over 500 members with over 150 beneficiaries all over the country.

Since all of us are working professionals, it is difficult for us to directly get in touch with all the beneficiaries. So we take the help of experienced NGOs having direct access to the needy students. We provide funds to the NGOs and they supply books and pay the school dues and tuition money for the students. Twice a year, we, the members of Jagaran, visit the students at their homes to evaluate whether the funds are being utilized properly and the students are getting the desired benefits. Last Sunday, about 6 of us jagaran members went to evaluate 3 students in and around the Dum Dum area.

First, we visited a girl named Joyeeta. After walking for more than 15 minutes through a maze of narrow lanes and by lanes, we reached her 1 roomed shanty. She studies in class 11 and lives with her parents and kid brother. Her father is a carpenter and barely manages to earn Rs 1000 a month. But the spark in her eyes is impossible to miss. She scored over 80% in her std 10 xams which is quite an achievement considering her circumstances. She wants to get a PhD in Bio-Medicine in the future. Wish her luck.

Next up was a chirpy boy named Idris, also studying in std 11. In fact all 3 of the students we interviewed that day were in std 11. Idris' family's financial condition was decidedly better than Joyeeta's, TV fridge, etc. His attitude however, was circumspect. His performance in exams was on a downward curve and all we received as explanations were nothing but lame excuses. After some more prodding, we came to realize the main cause ... he hardly studies at all! At most he puts in 3.5 hrs of study per day! After getting a piece of our mind, he promised to study harder. Let's hope he does, for his own sake. For education is the magic wand that can transform our lives. My own life stands testimony to that. It is the only way through which a person coming from a middle class background can seek to touch the stars - to live out his dreams. The only way out of poverty is through sheer dedication and hard work. I hope I was able to put this across to Idris.

The 3rd and last person on our list was Imran. In Urdu, "Imran" means "exalted nation". Well, we were certainly in an "exalted mental state" after meeting him. His behaviour and his attitude set him apart. We came to know from our local NGO contact that initially the NGO used to sponsor Imran's books as well as his private tuition fees. After a few months, Imran had turned down the aid for tuition fees while continuing to receive books for his studies. When we asked him about it, his answer, accompanied by an understated but charismatic smile, stunned us all. He said that he finds it immoral to ask for tuition aid when he can very well manage on his own! The facts support his quiet confidence. He has never stood 2nd in his school and was a consistent top performer even in std 11. Here was a person who lived his life out of just one dank room, where his parents, his sister and he vies for each inch of space, who cannot even afford to replace his worn out shirt, yet he dared to refuse aid for something that he could well do without. We had set out in the journey that day to give something to others but this soft spoken, charming, bespectacled boy of 15 gave us so much.

His long term goal is to be a Robot Scientist. When I asked him how he came to know of this exotic profession, he replied that once in the Calcutta book fair, he had bought a book on Robotic Science authored by an IISc professor. That book had really inspired him. Well Imran, it is YOU who inspire all of us. Wish you all the best.