It is a small makeshift school under a bridge being constructed opposite the old Yamuna bridge, but it is helping nearly 150 children from nearby shanties get an education and dream of a better future.
The school, in Yamuna Khadar, is in Mayur Vihar Phase 4, and located on the banks of the murky Yamuna river. It was set up in December 2016 by Satinder, a young man from Badayuni in Uttar Pradesh. Initially four or five children joined. In barely two years, the number of children has increased to as much as 150.
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
“In 2012, I came with my parents here to help them cultivate vegetables. I noticed children going to a government school in Pocket 4 in Mayur Vihar. But they would attend school only once or twice a week. The little ones, who were admitted in Class 1, rarely went because they couldn’t cross this busy road. I thought the children should study regularly and learn properly so I started teaching them myself,” says Satinder.
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
The children help their parents in the fields and then need to walk two km to reach the government school. The long walk tires them out. So, instead of going to school, they would play the whole day. Now they attend Satinder’s school from 7 am to 11 pm. He teaches all the subjects. “In the evening they go back and tell their parents what they have learnt,” says Satinder who is studying for his Bachelor of Science degree. “I really wish the government school was closer,” he says.
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
The parents pay Rs 100 or Rs 200 per month as fees. “Whatever they can afford,” says Satinder. “If they can’t pay on a monthly basis, they can pay after three or four months.”
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
The school has desks, chairs, a blackboard and the children have books and stationary. Satinder says Ravi Chopra, an advocate practicing in Delhi High Court, noticed his school and donated the desks. Sometimes people visiting the Yamuna see his school and return with stationary.
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
Kumar Pal and his wife Reshma send their two children, a boy and a girl, to study in Satinder’s school. “Our children are admitted in the government school. But Satinder teaches our children very well. We want our children to study much, much more. This is just the beginning,” says Pal who has been living here since six years.
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
The future of this tiny school looks bleak. The land along the banks of the Yamuna has been acquired by the Delhi Development Authority. “They can ask us to move out anytime,” says Satinder. “When that happens the children will leave and their hope of receiving a good education will fade.”
Picture by: Shrey Gupta
