I rummaged through the pile of books and school supplies that a private school was throwing away since they are considered out of date and began putting them into neat piles. In Kolkata, we will be able to use the English and Math books to teach the children in the slums and in the streets. I took one book of each grade level from class 1 to class 4 and made photocopies of the books to give to our children in the streets and slum so that they may have proper materials to learn. I smiled a little knowing I was sorting through someone else’s trash of books seeing the value that they still hold.

In the slum near the Gandhi Center, I met with little Rupa and her family to ask them if they wanted their daughter to attend boarding school. This time they agreed to let her attend. Rupa is a lovely six year old girl soon to be seven and she loves to learn whenever we come to teach her in the slum. I had spoken with the sisters at Nav Jeevan to come do a home visit and to verify Rupa’s living condition before she can be admitted. Now it is a matter of waiting and praying that she will soon be accepted.

I took another child from the Nimtala slum to visit a boarding school in Tolygunde area south of Kolkata. The six year boy and his mother along with his two siblings live next to the train tracks. His mother works to clean houses for a living and makes perhaps 2000-3000 Rupees per month. The young boy has not had any formal education and will probably have no chance of a future other than living out his life in the slum next to the train track if he is not placed into a boarding school.

Now it is a matter of waiting and praying that the two children will be accepted and getting papers for them will not be a complicated process. 

I visited the children at Nav Jeevan upon arrival (February 27, 2015) to learn that Muskan has been promoted to class I (English Medium) so that is a bit of good news. Muskan has been moved to the Pandua facility in the village where she has a nicer environment to live and learn. The only sad thing is now I don't get to see her every time I visit, but the change will be good for her. The other children at Nav Jeevan are doing well and just finished their exam so now they have their school break. Two other kids, besides Muskan, have also transitioned to English Medium, but remained at Nav Jeevan since they are still in Nursery class.

The five children we have at the Missionaries of the Word are doing well and happy to be there. I went to visit them the following day. After paying for their tuition for the year, I took them shopping for a set of school clothes. It has only been about two months for them living in their new environment so they are still making some adjustment and missing home on the train platform of Sealdah. But once they immersed themselves in school and begin learning, perhaps they will not feel homesick.

It was good seeing the children from the Ghandi Center slum and to see them in their new school uniforms. Two of the children, Bharti and Sonam, are no longer there because they have been placed in boarding school nearby thanks to a local Baptist Church. Rupa and Sneha are still attending day school at Saint George in the morning and receiving afternoon tutoring each Thursday by one of the volunteers. The older children are attending classes in the afternoon and some are helping to teach the younger children in the evening at Marina's tutoring center in the slum from 4-6pm.

It is good to see the kids and families viewing education as being more important in their lives. Although it may be a long time before they are truly invested in their children's education, but they families we work with and the children we work with are taking baby steps forward. And for us, every small step forward is providing these children with better opportunities in their lives.