TGIF
(Thank-God-Its-Friday) is the mantra on
my lips as I go to sleep on Thursday nights. And Friday nights are devoted to
balancing the equation between two days on left hand side and friends, movies,
shopping, eat-out, and lots of sleep on the right hand side. So when my friend
asked me to go for taking classes at Vinoba Niketan as part of ARPAN, on a
Saturday, my first reaction was not very pleasant. But he was persistent and I
was without genuine excuses. Thus I found myself the next Saturday morning journeying
to Vinoba Niketan, with five others from VSSC and LPSC, a little disappointed
at having my weekend plans being spoiled. Little did I know that eventually I
would cancel my fun-plans to continue
to be a part of this journey in the coming months.
About
30 km from Thiruvananthapuram city, on the way to Ponmudi hill range, in the
picturesque village of Tholikkode at Aryanad is situated VinobaNiketan.
Acclaimed as the spiritual successor of Gandhiji, Vinoba was committed to the
upliftment of Harijans and this
institute stands a testimony to the same ideals. It was founded by Parivrajika
Rajamma (Amma), the spiritual
daughter of Vinoba Bhave in the year 1954 and is dedicated to the cause of
education for tribal girls. They also have several other programs in the areas
of village literacy, khadi promotion and agriculture. The centre shelters
around 150 tribal girls from various parts of Kerala and supports their
education and overall development. They study in classes from 4th to
12th. Niketan runs an upper primary school for students from class 4th
to 6th and the older students go to a government school nearby.
Talking
about ARPAN, it is a humble philanthropic initiative of like-minded enthusiasts
of IISU, VSSC, LPSC, ISAC, ISTRAC and SHAR, who consider it their obligation to
reach out and serve the deprived and the less fortunate. Over the three years
of our efforts, we have been able to extend support to about 300 chronically
ill patients, around 400 financially needy students and have been instrumental
in directing many patients to different agencies for getting further
help/consultation and also creating awareness about government aids. ARPAN has been visiting and contributing in its own way to
Vinoba Niketan from the beginning of 2013. The volunteers have since then
interacted with the children and supplied them with logistical support. The
more regular visits and educational support began in the academic year of
2014-15 with a team of volunteers visiting Niketan every week and taking
classes in different subjects taught at school.
I
have been a part of this team since January, 2015. You enter the gates beneath
a huge yellow arch into a world of utmost serenity and calm. Rare trees and
plants line the sides of pavements, pretty little flowers welcome you. The day
usually starts with meeting Amma. The
girls would be ready for their weekly session and welcome us with vigor. It
won’t take more than five minutes for them to befriend you. You ask them to
sing, and they will sing the best folk songs. You ask them to dance, and the
little girls will dance in perfect rhythm. The pure positive energy they
radiate, the enthusiasm and liveliness in their every single movement is bound
to enrapture you. Belonging to scientific fraternity we usually take classes in
Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Help is also given in improving their English and
Hindi communication skills. Of late, few family members of the current
volunteers have also joined the group in giving support in subjects like
Biology and Humanities and thus filling the gap. The idea is not just to follow
the school syllabus, but to improve the basics of the children and make them
strong in concepts.
The
satisfaction you feel when the little ones complete a sentence in English, or
solve a problem in math is immense. When you are leaving after the classes they
will definitely ask if you will back next week. The innocent smiling faces of
the kids when they know there is someone out there who cares about them and
will come back for them is just priceless. And while returning I realize that
any other plan would have been so worthless in front of those happy faces.
Another
attraction to Vinoba Niketan visits is trekking the Chittippararock quite near to it. Lush greenery, breathtaking view
and sheer calm await the climber at its peak. More than once have we taken
respite from the city buzz by climbing the rock and relaxing at top.
Vinoba
Niketan takes care of education only till class 12th. We came to
know that many girls are forced to get married after that because of no further
support. There are ARPAN volunteers who are sponsoring children going for
higher studies after completing their 12th from here and we have
also been trying to get more individual sponsoring for meritorious students.
Dear
reader, who had the patience to read to this line, this is for you. Man, money,
and material – we graciously welcome all three for our future activities. Like
I mentioned above, there is a greater need for volunteers who can take classes
in non-science subjects. Most importantly we welcome ideas from those who
already have experience in educational activities to implement next year. Your
contributions may become the reason why a little girl's dreams became true. So
if there is some way you think you can better the life of a bunch of kids, then
kindly contact: Krishna G N, VSSC, email:krishna@vssc.gov.in
