(Tuesday Night)
Tonight was a good night. It was a night that serves as a
perfect example for the importance of education, and the perfect conclusion to
my internship with Pratham. During my time interning at Pratham, I have seen
what can be done to ensure quality education for all children, I have seen how
it can be done, but I did not have the opportunity to spend enough time in the
field to understand why it must be done. Tonight, I have finally realized what
education can offer these young children.
I was on the train at 8pm going to visit some friends, and
two little beggar children had jumped on right behind, nagging me for money. The
train was relatively empty since it was after rush hour, and I was sitting in
the less crowded women’s compartment. I have gotten quite used to being pegged
as the compassionate tourist who quickly doles out money with one pleading
look, but I have also learned that if you give money to one child, many others
start crowding you, asking you for money. Besides the discomfort of 10 little
children surrounding you telling you they’re hungry, I have also been told that
many of the children work for an underground system, and that the money you
give them doesn’t actually go to them at all. For these reasons I have become
quite wary of handing out a few rupees here and there, even while my conscious
is screaming to help them.
Sitting on the train, trying to ignore the little boy
tapping my knee, my conscious was again longing to give the children what they
wanted to pacify their pleading eyes.
Finally, once the boys realized I wasn’t going to budge, they began
talking among themselves and exchanging pieces of the crackers they were
holding in their hands. Every once in awhile they would catch me looking at
them and give me a big warm smile. I smiled back and asked one of the boys if
he knew any English. He began to count to 10 in English and the other younger
boy quickly joined in. I had learned to count to 10 in Hindi, and after they
finished I stumbled through the Hindi numbers with their help. They absolutely
loved showing me what they knew, and they loved teaching me even more. Soon I
was using the telephone numbers in the advertisements on the walls of the train
to test the boys on their recall time, and we soon had made a game of it. I was
almost at my stop and I told the boys that I would give each of them 2 rupees
if they could correctly recall all the numbers I pointed to in the
advertisement. They eagerly agreed and worked hard to get the numbers right. We
were all so absorbed in the game that I almost missed my stop, and had to jump
out after the train had already begun moving again. The children followed me
out and as I had promised I gave them each 2 rupees. It may have been my
imagination, but the boys looked proud of the money they had earned, and they
didn’t ask me for more. They understood that at least with this American
tourist, they had to work for the money I gave them. Smiling and telling them good job, I was suddenly
reminded of my grandfather who always rewarded us with a few dollars or a gold
coin if we memorized a poem, or earned all “As” at school. He never believed in
just “inheriting” money or simply giving it away. I always thought he was a
little cold for doing so, but now I understand it goes both ways. Money takes
on a whole new meaning when you have earned it yourself, and your self-image
and self-confidence change drastically in the process. On a very minute scale,
I caught a glimpse of what Pratham does through its focus on quality education
for hundreds of thousands of children in India. I realized that educating them
isn’t only to provide them the basic skills needed to secure a job, but also
the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to develop their confidence in
their own capabilities. The education that these children receive through Pratham
develops discipline, commitment, and self-worth, keeping them off the streets
and bothering sympathetic travelers like me.
