The Candy Girl

Today I joined as Security Guard in Sarvodaya Public School, Rajpur an English Medium School. The school started at 7:15 am. At 10:15 am I saw a girl in school uniform with school bag on her back approaching the school gate.  

Instead of coming to the gate, she went towards the open space near by the gate. She take out a mat from the bag and laid it on the ground under a tree. Then she took out three or four containers full of coloured candies. Now I understood that she was a hawker but I was thinking that why she had put on school uniform. About 15 minutes were left for the bell to rang for the short break. I observed that she took out a old torn book from her bag and started reading slowly with breaks. It was totally surprising for me to see a girl in school uniform selling candies and reading books. She collected the money in a pouch that she earned and left the place at about 11:15 am. 

It was her daily routine. Sometimes she tried to read the lines written on the displays, sometimes she peered into the gate and watched the children playing in the ground. On some days she came in the morning to see the assembly. She repeated the prayer, pledge, national anthem. She had learnt by heart. Her interest in these activities, studies showed that she had keen desire to go to school and study. 

I was eager to know about her. After some days I called her and asked her, “ if you are so interested in going school then why are you here at this time and why are you in school uniform and sell candies? “

She didn’t spoke a single word. Just bent down her head and started crying silently. I requested her to not to cry. Then she told me that she is Rajni, 11 years old and live with her window mother in nearby basti. She had studied up-to Class III and was very good in studies and sports. Her father’s wanted her to become a teacher but after the sudden death of her father she had to leave the school as her mother's earning was not sufficient to continue her studies. Rajni sell candies and make paper bags to support her mother. 

Rajni's desire for school let her to sell candies near the school campus in school uniform. She wanted to touch the sky but the weights of poverty brought her down to earth. 

I decided to help her. I came to know from my friend about a night school run by a NGO “Udaan” working for the education of poor children and illiterate adults. I met Rajni’s mother in the evening and told her about the night school and took them to the concerned office. 

The NGO not only runs night schools but also they provide books, study materials and taught a skill so that they could earn along with studies. But the head of Udaan, Mr. Prakash Rai put some conditions for admission. The first condition was that each student should encourage a child or an adult to join the school, second is he/she should return all the books of previous class in good condition after promotion to next class, third is to plant a tree each year and last to train others the skill they learnt.

Both mother and daughter agreed and both of them registered their names in the school. They thanked me and Rajni gave me a container full of candies for my children. Rajni didn’t stopped coming to this school, she came twice a week at the same time and stand there few minutes because this is the school which always motivates her for studies and to thank the security guard who help her to go back to school that is me. 

Actually I didn’t help her but her dedication and desire directs me to help the needy ones. 

“ Education means to educate others”