Posted: 31/03/2008
Several of the slum areas' Children's Resource Centres are already equipped with computers and computer teachers, and hundreds of children have completed a course in basic computer literacy - an option that they would never get in school.
Now, we want to supply every area with computers and broadband internet, giving the children the opportunity to broaden their horizons and access a whole world of information to help them with their education.
Below, you can read a letter from Dr Kiran Martin about one girl in particular who is desperately waiting for us to achieve our goal.
Dear friend,
I'm writing to you today using what some might call an old-fashioned communication method, a posted letter. An email message is much quicker and more spontaneous. I have specifically chosen to write to you to underline the fact that one medium, the internet, is now available to so many of us that we use it almost without thinking. However, it is another aspect of everyday life that is not available to the children in the slum. Just imagine how much they could learn if they had access to the internet!
Although these children's health has improved dramatically, and they are growing in knowledge and confidence through being part of Bal Mandal groups, there is still a huge gulf between their opportunities and those of other children.
Faced with inadequate schooling, slum children rarely get to see computers in a classroom, and are hardly ever allowed to touch them. They are taught in Hindi, and books and other resources are often out of date. They have few opportunities to seek information for themselves, and are restricted to the narrow view of the world provided within their slum or classroom walls.
At Asha, we're committed to ending this inequality in as many areas as possible.
Hazra's story is a perfect example of how people's lives can change, given the opportunity. One of seven children in a Muslim family living in the vast south Delhi slum of Tigri, life is hard for 12-year old Hazra. Her father died two years ago, only her eldest brother has a job and her mother does some work from home, but is unable to earn enough to support her children. Hazra didn't receive any help from her school, and was embarrassed by her lack of a school bag and books. Asha staff at Tigri had collected money to give to those most in need, and they all agreed to help Hazra financially. As a result, she and her brothers and sisters were able to remain in school.
Hazra is already part of Tigri's Bal Mandal group, and had enjoyed learning how to prevent disease, and about the rights of children. She still goes to the meetings, but she has been very depressed since her father died, and has been speaking to Asha staff about her problems. When I met her, she smiled only once - when she said how excited she was about starting her computer course this month. She is even having some evening tuition in English to help her when she is learning how to use computers. She says she knows how important it is to be able to use computers and the internet these days, and she is sure that the knowledge will help her in her chosen career as a teacher.
I wish you could see for yourself how eager Hazra is to learn. There are so many children like her, and we'd like to give them a reason to look outside their slum areas and the hardships of their daily lives, and to explore the wider world through the internet.
We are aiming to install computers and broadband internet access in all 16 of our slum centres.
Can you help us? If you'd like to contribute, and open the eyes of children like Hazra to a whole new world, there are a couple of options.
However you may decide to help, we are so grateful for your support - thousands of children can benefit from your generosity in ways that were previously out of their reach.
Sincerely,
Dr Kiran Martin
Founder & Director
Asha Community Health & Development Society
Hazra in the computer room at Tigri
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