We - The Change Makers

        Maya rubbed her fingers and palms to each other. Her palms were red and itchy. She searched for coconut oil but could not find it anywhere in her house. As she sat down with irritation in her hands, her mom Geetha came running.

      “Maya, where is your school bag?” – she asked

With a big bright smile, Maya responded.

       “It’s inside that wooden box amma.”

      Geetha immediately opened the wooden trunk box and took out the bag. Maya was very curious to know why her mom asked about her school bag. So she stood beside Geetha. Geetha took out the books from the bag, scattered them on the floor and ran outside with Maya’s sling bag.

       “Rukku aunty is giving us 2 kgs of rice for free. I don’t have any other big bag than this.” – Geetha replied as she ran outside.

      Maya gathered the books that were spread on the floor. She touched them, hugged them close to her heart. She then opened a book and began reading with spelling.

“P EL A EN T”

“PLANT”

“EF A R EM E R”

“FARMER”

“EF O O D”

“FOOD”

“Hey Maya, come on we have to go know!” Geetha hurried as she came inside the house.

Maya did not listen to her mom. She continued reading in a loud voice.

“D R E A M B I G”

“B E H A P P Y”

With her knuckles, Geetha hit Maya on her head and snatched the book away from her.

“Amma, you said that there is no work at the construction site today.”

“Yes, but if we sit at home today, we have to sleep hungry tomorrow. Hurry up. Rukku aunty has asked us to do gardening work in her house today. Thank God, we can make little money today!” – Geetha rushed outside holding Maya’s itchy hands adjusting her cloth mask.

Maya was Geetha’s only child. Geetha’s husband abandoned her once Maya was born. Geetha worked as a daily wage labourer in a construction site and somehow managed to grow up Maya. Maya studied in a Government Elementary school. Maya ate mid-day meals at school. So, Geetha would definitely send Maya to school.

It was in March 2020 that this corona pandemic hit the nook and corner of this world and that was when Geetha’s sufferings multiplied. Due to lockdown, Geetha could not earn. Maya could not go to school. Geetha had to feed Maya thrice a day and feed herself at least once a day to survive.

Somehow Geetha managed the lockdown period, but she felt depressed and angry.

Their sufferings reduced when the lockdown was released to some extent. Since the schools were closed, Geetha took Maya to the construction site where she worked. She somehow managed to find some petty jobs like breaking stones, carrying water, passing the bricks, etc, for Maya. Maya was paid too. Geetha sent Maya to the neighbouring houses for washing vessels and brooming. Poor Maya! Her hands became red after doing heavy work.

In the houses where Maya went for work, sometimes she would see children of her age staring at their mobile phone, attending online classes.

“Amma, can we buy a phone? We can see my teacher in the phone.” – Maya said eagerly.

Geetha would neither listen nor respond to Maya. She was not even aware of TV channels telecasting lessons. She did not bother about Maya’s education.

Supraja, who was an accountant, recently shifted her house and moved to a house close to Maya's. She saw Maya going to work every day. One day, she stopped Maya and spoke to her. When Maya told about her workplace, Supraja felt bad. She was angry on Geetha.

In the evening, Supraja went to Maya’s house to speak with Geetha.

“What is Maya going to do by going to school? Now that she works along with me, we make more money. I could also clear some debts. We are not rich like you, please move away. Don’t advise us.” – Geetha said loudly to Supraja.

Supraja thought for a second and said

“From tomorrow, don’t send Maya to work. Send her to my house. I will teach her. Don’t worry. I will give you some money to meet your daily needs.”

Supraja explained patiently about the need for education and convinced Geetha.

Supraja did not stop with that. She gathered her friends and identified children like Maya and helped them through her friends.

“Rich people should consider that they are only trustees for what they possess and should show their wealth to be more in doing good than merely having it.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.

Child labour, gender inequality and education for girl children were predominant problems in India. But due to the efforts of the government and NGOs, these problems were reduced to some extent before this pandemic. But the impact of this pandemic on the society is more worser than the pandemic itself. We have now time travelled to a few decades back.

Now, let’s not wait for the change to happen. Let’s initiate the change and be the change makers. It is the responsibility of every Indian to create awareness about the RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR ALL.

Our forefathers sacrificed their lives for the freedom of our nation. "We – the change makers" must do justice to these patriotic souls by uplifting India’s glory to greater heights.

When inequality is eradicated and education is imparted to all, we can happily embrace a FREE INDIA.

       

                                  JAI HIND