BIHAR: Unlike her colleagues at a government school who return home after teaching students, Namrata Anand utilises her time for the welfare of the transgender and the differently-abled. She teaches environmental and social sciences at a government middle school in Sipara in Patna district. She visited slums in Chitkohra locality of Patna to teach children from Nat and other lower castes.
In 2007, Namrata became a government school teacher and continued to carry out her social work. “Teaching and social work have been my passion. A room has been constructed at Kamla Nehru School for imparting education to children from poor families,” says Namrata, a Ph.D She said that 4-5 other centres have also been opened to impart free education to the needy.
With the support of Bharatiya Vikas Parishad, she has supported differently-abled people by providing them with calipers, artificial limbs and tricycles. Similarly, she has provided transgender people with free ration during the Covid-19 pandemic peak. Blankets are also provided to them during winters, she added.
In 2020, Namrata established Sanskarshala in Fuljhari Garden of Kurthol. Children from poor families and slums are given free education. They also train in music and sewing & weaving, papad-making, painting and dance. Beneficiaries like Gudiya and Priti said they have been lending financial support to the family with their income from stitching clothes and uniforms of schoolchildren.
Some have built careers in the field of handicrafts and painting. Sulekha Kumari has done a beautician course and earns a respectable amount. Similarly, Radha and Mamta Kumari are getting calls for stage dance at marriage ceremonies and cultural shows. A popular guitarist, Praveen Kumar Badal, also trains children on string instrument. A social worker, Mithilesh Singh, has provided space for opening Sanskarshala, she added.
Daughter of a district judge, Namrata said learnt a lot when she was appointed a coordinator of schools. She worked with 2,500 children belonging to 15 government schools from 2014 to 2018. “It helped me improve my managerial skills,” she says. Under the banner of Didi Jee Foundation, she has participated in initiatives such as Jal Jeevan Hariyali Mission, Beti Padhao Beti Bachao, environment and sanitation campaigns, anti-tobacco campaigns and literacy drives.