From roadside kids to role models

An NGO led by Richa Prasant rehabilitates under-privileged kids
Students enrolled with NGO Sunaayy taking a class
Students enrolled with NGO Sunaayy taking a class

Amit Kumar, a Class 9 student at Government Boys Senior Secondary School in Vasant Kunj wants to become a doctor.

Class 8 student Manish Kumar, from the same school, aims to be a teacher, while Shambhu Kumar aspires to be an Army officer. But all kids harbour some or the other dream, so what’s special about these boys?

Amit, Manish and Shambhu are from the slums, and were never ever encouraged to have dreams, till Vasant Kunj resident Richa Prasant walked into their lives.

Her NGO Sunaayy runs four centres in Vasant Kunj where 450 children are not only taught academic subjects – science, maths and English – but also different life skills.

Recently, she opened two more centres, one in Kolkata and the other in Vaishali (Bihar). While the Kolkata centre benefits about 100 children, 50 are helped through the Vaishali centre. 

The beginning

Richa Prasant with kids from her centre
Richa Prasant with kids from her centre


“I used to see these children whiling away their time, sitting on the roads...” recalls Prasant, adding, “Just a few of them were government school students. The others were not even enrolled in an educational institution. It worried me no end. Children are our wealth and future. I feared them going into wrong hands or learning bad habits.” After Prasant quit Hewlett Packard in 2009, she decided to focus on these kids. She gathered kids she regularly found loitering, and spoke to their parents about sending them to her. They were initially hesitant, but agreed after seeing her earnestness. “I began with 10 kids at the colony park behind my home in 2009. I didn’t have the slightest knowledge this will become so big one day,” she smiles. “My idea was to keep kids occupied so that for the four hours in the morning when their mothers are out working, they are in safe hands, well-fed and looked after.”  

Low-cost model

Sunaayy runs on a low-cost model. There are no overhead costs as there’s no school building. The classes are held on roads, under trees, but Prasant ensures each child gets a uniform, free books and never goes hungry. “We are fortunate to have a good education and comfortable homes.

We, as the privileged ones, should do everything possible for the less privileged. We can surely do many things than just sitting in air-conditioned rooms and cribbing about the government not doing enough,” she says. “We need more such centres. No kid should remain out of school.”

Even 10 years on, the journey, despite being still rife with many roadblocks has been a fulfilling one. “There are a number of volunteers who give their time – some take classes, others donate uniforms/books. Many support through donations. If we have reached this far, it is because of the support from the community,” she says. 

Multi-pronged approach

Sunaayy has a multi-pronged approach to teaching. It not only holds remedial classes for government school kids, but so far, managed to get 500 children inducted into mainstream schools. “The idea is to turn these  roadside kids into role models. With so many government schemes in place now, getting these kids into main schools is not a problem, though the need of the hour is having schools where there’s not much of a difference between the family status of kids.”

Not just children, but Sunaayy is also helping young adults, especially girls by hiring them as educators at their centres. Nisha is one of them. Though she completed her schooling, her parents couldn’t afford to get her enrolled in a college. They wanted to marry her off but a job with Sunaayy has not only helped her pursue studies, but it has also made her parents understand the perils of marrying a girl child early. 

Prasant is now imparting vocational skills to older children so that they can earn. As Prasant puts it, “Sunaayy is proof that bina ulta kaam kiye bhi is desh main bahut kaam ho sakta hai (one can work and achieve results even without indulging in malpractices).

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com