‘Every child must get quality education with values of life’

City’s 96-year-old educational organization ‘Seva Sadan’ selected Akola-based Pranjali Jaiswal and her ‘Encourage Foundation’ for their Ramabai Ranade Memorial Educational Award. Right from class VII, Pranjali has been working for the education of children living in the slums of Akola. After decades of selfless service, she has developed nine dedicated schools for slum children. These schools provide quality education along with values, unlike the typical government ones. Her students, hailing from poor, criminal, and uneducated backgrounds, are now pursuing paths to become doctors, engineers and lawyers. In an exclusive interview with TOI, Pranjali talked about her journey and her future plans.
Q. You started teaching slum children when you were very young. How did it start?
A. I was in class VII when I started this work. I used to see our maidservants living in nearby slums speaking about their children’s schools. Their schools hardly had any facilities. Many of them had no slates to write. Once I spent my entire pocket money and purchased some slates. On one Sunday, I went to the nearby slums and gave these slates to some children. I also taught them how to write. I decided to visit them every Sunday and teach them whatever I could. But by next Sunday, the children had sold their slates to buy food. I realized that they need food first and then education. So, I started visiting slums with a tiffin and slates. First we used to eat, and then learn. This was a modest beginning. Later, as I grew up and got a job, I started spending more money on these kids from my salary.
Q. What is ‘Encourage Foundation’ all about?
A. We registered ourselves as an educational trust in 2014. But I am working with the full support of my family – both my parents and in-laws since decades. Growing up in a slum is something we well-to-do kind of people can never imagine. These children face different challenges, poverty is just one of them. There are government schools and many children go there. Still, a majority of them don’t learn anything. This is because they don’t get an encouraging atmosphere at home and in their surroundings. As they don’t get quality education, they feel schooling is a hopeless exercise and start indulging in criminal activities. It’s very easy for these children to get exposed to pick-pocketing, chain snatching and theft. Some of them get addicted to drugs and liquor. Eventually, precious lives of young people are wasted. At ‘Encourage Foundation’, we believe that quality education with values can bring about a change and save these lives from crime or addictions. Good school education is the foundation. We work really hard for this.
Q. Do you have schools for slum children in Akola?
A. Yes, presently we are running nine evening schools. They are in Akot Fail, Shelar Fail, Umari, Harirar Peth, Balapur Naka, and one of them is in Akola’s remand home. Ask anybody about these localities and you will get an idea as to why it’s difficult to run schools here. In Akot Fail, our school was surrounded by five country liquor shops. When we started, we had to face many challenges from local criminals and drunkards. We could make it thanks to the support from the police department. After running the school for about 5 years, liquor shop owners themselves decided to keep their shops closed for 2 hours in the evening. Today, when our schools function, liquor shops remain closed. No agitation, no political pressure, no applications and no requests, everything happened spontaneously. This is an achievement.
Q. From where do you get funds to run these schools?
A. We don’t accept donations in the form of money. We don’t ask for government aid and will never ask for it in the future too. Generous people help us in the form of books, stationary etc. Food collection is the most important part of our work. We collect left-over food from weddings and parties. This food is served to needy students. All my nine schools are running in rented places. Many politicians, local corporators, temples and vihars offered us their space for our schools. I rejected their offers because I don’t want any political or religious obligation for our work. We pay the rent from our own pockets. Each school has one teacher, and I pay salaries to all of them. Funds come from my salary, and our family income. I never think about how the money will come. I just start the work when I feel like and money comes automatically.
Q. You must be having many success stories too.
A. Of course, and I am proud of them. Six years ago, a ten-year-old boy, who had mastered pick-pocketing, came to us. It was difficult to convince him to join the school. Today, this boy has got a scholarship in skill education. One of our students is pursuing MBBS. Girls find our schools very safe and they prefer learning here. We give them a good atmosphere and values along with formal education. Today, hundreds of these children, now grown up people, are working in different fields. They recognize me and I feel like I have got my biggest reward.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. Our work has limitations. There are thousands of children who need helping hands. I don’t plan for the future. Whatever I feel I should do for people, I just start doing. Apart from schooling, we are working on skill education, and job-oriented training too. Let’s see how it works out.