Ritu proves that vast resources are not essential to make a difference. By teaching in her living room, she is transforming young lives in a simple way. Every day after school, local children gather at Ritu's house. She helps school-going children as well as children who have never attended school.
“I’ve always been inclined towards social work and I thought I should start something for the village children. The response was overwhelming. I’ve bought books, stationery and other supplies for them to use. I teach them math, language, science and social studies. I help them with their homework and prepare them for exams. To the children who don’t go to school at all, I teach everything from scratch.”
“Along with the regular educational curriculum, I teach the children how to remain clean and healthy. All work and no play is not a good thing. In order to keep their interest alive in their studies, I encourage them to play indoor games, paint or do pastel drawings, get them to sing songs, recite poetry and also do a little show-and-tell where they can display their skills by presenting things to the group.”
“Education is the basic thing one gets and in most cases, education is not available for them to access. This has a series of consequences -mostly shortcomings- as they are forced to be confined to unfriendly and hostile environments that don’t help them evolve. Considering my experience in the social field and also the fact that I have lived at different places in and outside India, I feel that a lot can be done for children from economically disadvantaged families.”
Ritu's unassuming work will go a long way in the lives of these children.
