{"id":2591,"date":"2020-09-17T12:49:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T07:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wishesandblessings.net\/blog\/?p=2591"},"modified":"2020-09-17T09:41:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T04:11:00","slug":"2591-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wishesandblessings.net\/blog\/2591-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Manik Visits the Munirka Shelter Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I recently visited the Munirka Shelter Home, where there are 3 rain baseras (shelters). One is for males, the second for females and the third one for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, as we all have certain preconceived notions about these shelters homes, I too had such a notion that they would be poorly constructed and dirty. However, to my surprise, they were extremely clean and I could barely see any signs of poor construction (ex: leakage, broken walls etc). Also, since the spread of Covid is once again on the rise in the national capital, it only added onto my fears. However, all safety protocols were being followed at the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My team and I reached the centre\naround 11 AM and straight away headed to the shelter for the children. We were\ngreeted by the teacher (Pooja Ma\u2019am), who was teaching basic hygiene lessons to\nthe 18 children that were currently present at the centre. On seeing new faces,\nthe children were overjoyed and greeted us all a good morning (remember how we all\nwould say it in chorus back in school; they also said it in exactly the same\nway). After the initial greetings, we introduced ourselves and also asked the\nchildren to introduce themselves, during which they told us their names and\nwhether they like to study or not. To my utter surprise, most of the children\nsaid \u201cYES\u201d, they love studying. This took me back to my school days and how I\nnever liked studying. It was at this moment that I realised how we often take\nfor granted things that we get so easily. For these children, education did not\ncome as easy as it was for us. One could easily sense the commitment in these\nyoung eyes to break the vicious circle of poverty and how they valued\neducation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Children<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The children then continued with\ntheir teacher, learning the 8 steps to wash their hands properly. After that,\nthey went onto read ABCD, followed by an exercise of writing. It was during\nthis period when one of the child ran away to the next shelter where his mom\nwas, and when enquired, he did not wish to come back and his mother was also\nreluctant in sending him back to study. On discussing this with the teacher,\nshe expressed the challenges she has been facing at this centre. Since this is\na 24\/7 shelter, the parents are around and some of the parents are not interested\nin making their children study. They prefer that their children go out on the\nstreet and beg, which brings in some money, rather than studying, which has no\ntangible monetary inflow in the short run. They do not understand the long term\nbenefits of studying and have convinced themselves that they shall never be\nable to break out of this vicious circle. However, I believe it is our duty to\neducate them about the importance of education and with proper counselling of\nthe parents, we shall be able to overcome this challenge soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another instance to highlight was my conversation with Saddam, a 9-year-old boy, while he was doing a maths problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Manik<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I asked him what he wants to become once he grows up, he exclaimed that he would want to become a police officer. I could see the glee in his eyes when he said this. Despite the challenges these kids have faced, it is amazing to witness how determined they are to change their future and how they are tirelessly working hard towards it. As part of the conversation, I asked him what would he wish for, if a genie granted him three wishes. What amazed me was that he said he had none! When I enquired further, he said that he was happy and did not wish for anything more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the study sessions were over,\nwe decided to play a game of Antakshari, and seeing the enthusiasm in those\nyoung eyes was nothing short of blissful. We then decided to go outdoors and do\nsome physical exercise. The children decided that we all could have a racing\ncompetition and oh, boy! they thoroughly enjoyed it. After the race, a small\ngirl came up to us and said, \u201cBhaiya and Didi, come with me, I want to show you\nsomething\u201d, and she took us to a cabinet in which they had kept two small\nbirds. They told us how they take care of the birds and feed them regularly.\nThis showed their compassion towards other creatures, a quality that I believe is\none of the most important in any human being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was then lunch time, and all the children got their plates, rinsed them, as well as washed their hands. The day\u2019s menu had Rajma Chawal, one of the favourites amongst these children and they were extremely happy to see their favourite dish. We served the food to them, where they would tell us to put more or less, as per their appetite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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