Where Learning Meets Reality

Rich and poor are opposite words. Everything and nothing are also words that happen to oppose each other. At least, they are the first pairs of words that come to my mind when I look around me.  I’m in a state-run school.  I’m here for two reasons- to ask if I’m allowed to do volunteer work for the children here, and to do some quiet research for my presentation on National Education Policy. While Mum talks to the Head Mistress-In-Charge, I quietly observe my surroundings.

When I peep my head into the primary classrooms, I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. This school is so different from mine! The door is wide open, slippers scattered in front of it like a carpet. “Where are their shoes?” I wonder. Pondering for a moment, I take a glimpse inside. The children are sitting on a mat! There’s even a separate mat for boys and girls!  I cling on to the hope that the tables have only gone for cleaning. But my mind is sliding back to reality. The bridge between reality and my hopes is broken. These children don’t have chairs or desks. Some children share their textbooks with a partner. For a moment, I think it's a group activity. But then I see a boy spinning a bent, torn textbook on his finger. These children lost or damaged their textbooks and can’t afford another one! I am overcome by sadness, so I look outside.

There is an open ground the size of my school classroom that is covered in sand. Around the ground, there are several replicas of the room I just peeped into. The same rooms, the walls caked in dirt and the floor covered with scratches. There is not even a single poster on the wall! This is what their life is. I’m interrupted from my train of thought as I’m wallowing in pity for these children when I notice the HM-In Charge waving over to me. I walk over, cautiously.

“What’s your name?” she asks, smiling. “Alankreta, Mis-uh…” I’m not sure what to call her. She doesn’t notice. I heave a big sigh of relief. She proceeds to ask, “Are you interested in volunteer work, or did you come because your mum bought you here?” I open my mouth to answer, and my mom tells me, “Be truthful”, and steps away.  I think, Yes, Mom, this will be an answer from the bowels of my heart. “Yes”. She smiles and beckons to a lady in the far corner of the ground to take us on a tour of the ground floor. Why is this school so different from my school? Maybe society doesn’t care enough for these schools. So I asked Mum. She told me that there are about 40,000 schools in the state. It’s a big challenge to take everyone along.  I went home with a heart full of empathy and gratefulness for the life I am blessed with. Looking back for a final time, I hope that when I reach the shore of my destiny, I’ll see them on their shores as well.

Thank you, Universe.