A visit to the Second Chance School

As I told you last time in my blog, there was just one more thing to do before the holiday season starts in New Delhi and before Govind is heading home for a wedding. A visit, to the Second Chance School, where I would be able to talk to some of the young men and see the facility where they live.

Ritinjali about Second Chance School, Mahipalpur, New Delhi



"The second Chance School established by Ritinjali is a residential program aimed at imparting literacy, social values and vocational skills, to those who had to forego the first chance. Along with vocational courses, we help impart key skills in language and communication, numeracy, life skills and IT, The main target groups who benefit from this program are semi-literate, illiterate youth, youth who have dropped out of the formal education system, youth who do not have any knowledge of English; which is required for office jobs, youth who are not equipped  with technical skill sets and entrepreneurial youth without means, expertise or direction".  

Well, I have to say, I was pretty curious and I was looking forward to go to the facility, not knowing at all what to expect. After some e-mail contact back and forth and of course the unavoidable Indian-way changes in plan constantly :-), we finally decided to visit the Second Chance School on Tuesday May 7. It was only then that I suddenly realized that it would be silly to go there alone. After all, this what not about an emplacement for me in the program, but for Govind. Seeing the place and having a chance to talk to the others might help him to make better choices. Also this visit would make it easier for him to explain to his parents what the program is all about and how it would help. I asked Line and Ashish if we could take Govind along, they were perfectly fine with the idea right away and all was fixed not much later. (Yeah, that is possible here too, at least, sometimes :-))

On a sunny (read hot!) Tuesday afternoon, I found myself in Mahipalpur, looking for the address Line gave me. And that is not at all easy in Delhi where the streets have no names like they do in the Netherlands or in Germany. It is just the area, a certain block (L, M, R etc) and a number, which is hardly ever to find next to the house door. And although there were numerous people everywhere, nobody was able to tell us exactly where to go. And so it all came down to a sort of sightseeing tour through Mahipalpur, some stops here and there to ask directions and a few phone calls to Ashish, before we finally found Govind somewhere on the sidewalk. He was patiently waiting for us, together with another young man, which turned out to be an ex-Second Chance School attendee. He of course led us without any hesitation to the right building.

Once there, Ashish told us, backed up by some of the Second Chance School attendees, something about the variety of backgrounds these young people come from. One of the participants for example (the youth who was with Govind on the street) was meant to take over his father's business. Because he really was not into his father's line of work, he refused. He took of to Delhi to make it on his own and ended up at INA Market for a short while. Now, after attending Second Chance School, he is working in the hotel business which he really enjoys. He is probably even moving abroad soon for a new job.

Another story is about two young guys from Afghanistan, who where forced to leave their home, their country, after their father had been shot to dead. They had to take care of their family (younger sisters, a mother and aunt). Now they are doing well and they are even teaching their own sisters. One of them recently bought his own motorbike which is a really big investment and thus achievement for these youngsters. 

Dinesh

And then there is the story of Dinesh.
For those who have seen the You Tube video, Dinesh is the second young man to speak about his ordeal. He once worked on the INA Market as a coolie, just like Govind. One day, he got the chance to get of the market and enroll in the program. After the basic program, they all start out with, he learned how to sew garments. With his good results in Second Chance School, he soon got a chance on an internship with a tailor. All went well for Dinesh and he can now proudly announce that soon he will be working for a fashion designer. Wow, from the INA Market to fashion design, a mighty big step to take. 

But Dinesh's story is certainly not the only success story Ritinjali has to tell and Ashish is mighty proud of that. And let's be honest, he has every right to be proud of Ritinjali and the work they are doing. I feel privileged that I soon will have a chance to be part of this great organisation and I will do whatever I can to help them out. 






The visit ended with a little tour to see the facility. Of course you will have to leave all Western standards behind you, to get a good impression of the place. Our expectations of housing and life style differ so much from theirs, I cannot even begin to tell. But I think they are really making the most of it considering the circumstances. Upstairs Ashish shows us two of the bedrooms. The first one has four a five beds in it, leaving hardly no room for walking, but it had a good vibe. It looked kinda cosy to me. One of the guys for example had been creating some lamp covers out of recycled materials, which gave the room a personal touch. Great initiative, great creativity. The second room, didn't even have beds in it, just blankets on the floor. Ashish told me, that unfortunately, the budget did not allow beds for everybody. But hey, this place sure beats living in the streets, so...

We went on to another room. The kitchen, or at least a room that should pass as a kitchen. I would probably not have recognized it immediately  but I blame that on my pretty much spoiled upbringing (as most of us had where I come from). There were some pots and pans and a sort of a cooking device on the floor. How they are able to fix meals for about 25 young, hungry men on that thing remains a mystery for me, but maybe I'll find out some day. Of course there is also a living room/social room, bathroom facilities and all that but let's just leave it at this. All in all a pretty nice place to stay and a big step forward for many of them. Needless to say, that the young men do all the work themselves. They keep the place clean, repair or fix stuff, they cook for each other and so on. Nothing seems to much for them. I could think of some people (especially teens, like them) that could learn a lot from these guys. 

Govind was very quiet and pretty shy during the whole visit. I was not able to tell whether he could see himself in this place or not and I got the feeling that Ashish was thinking the same. Govind only told us that all would depend on his parents. If they would give their permission and the money would not be a problem then he could go for it. I'm not sure if that was all there was to it, but I decided to let it rest for a while and give it some time.

In the car on our way back I did however wonder what it must be like for him. Somebody you hardly even know steps into your life and offers some help. Offers an opportunity you never saw coming. Would I not be asking myself: why does a stranger do that?, what is the catch?, what if I fail?, can I take their money?, do I need their help?, do I want to give up my familiar life for this? I can come up with a hundred questions I think I would have. Govind however asked nothing. As we dropped Govind of at INA Market I did however feel the need, to tell him that I do believe in him, in his potential and that I do believe that he can do this. There is only one thing that concerns me, does he believe in himself? I hope so. 

To be continued, probably after our holiday. But if something comes up in the meantime I will let you know...

                                                                    

My first meeting with my new friend

Today I started out with reading my blog from last week to see where I needed to pick-up.
Only then I realized that the link to the You Tube video was not working, so here it is again. Hopefully it will work this time.

                        
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyPhiAClack


                           
                                          Gopal on You Tube

So, being thrilled, as I was, I was anxious to here from Line. And I did. On the 18th of April she send me an e-mail. They finally new who the young man was, and indeed he was part of the Night School program.  Line told me, they would be taking it upon them to check if he would be interested in Second Chance School and we would take it from there. Of course that was not exactly what happened, but anyway...

                

Job, fooling around with a coolie basket on INA market

And again, I had to wait what was going to happen next. It was kinda weird to be often at the INA market, seeing my/our friend there and not being able to discuss this whole matter. But that is exactly what I did and looking backwards I think it was a good approach. Although we did not talk about the program, we did talk to him in general and for some reason he always spotted me, or any other member of my family upon arrival the market. And of course that meant that he always got the job. Meanwhile the other coolies hardly ever bother asking us if we need a coolie because they know their friend will step in soon :-)

On the Tuesday April 23, I was finally going to be properly introduced to our friend. I would be meeting up with Line and Ashish in front of the Dilli Haat around nine p.m. when the coolies are done with their work and come to school. Then we would pay a visit to INA Night School togheter. Ashish was going to make sure our friend was gonna be there and so he was. And now I'm happy to introduce to all of you, my friend Govind.

So this is Govind, here posing for a picture on the market with my son Job. Govind had a really bad start in life as a young kid. I don't know all the details yet, but I will probably learn more about him in time. Even as a kid in his village he rarely attended school for different reasons, mainly family matters. Govind came from a small village in Utar Pradesh to Delhi at the age of 12 and started working on the market. His father is an alcoholic who hardly ever worked throughout his life. And on the rare occasions he did, he spent his money afterwards on booze. I understood that there was also a lot of aggression going on at his home while growing up in the village. Govind being the only boy in the family could only do one thing, go to Delhi and work, as lots of young boys from Utar Pradesh do. At the moment Govind is 18 and a half, he has no dreams left, he has no future ahead, but he still has his pride, his hope and his lively spirit. I admire him for those facts.



That evening I had the chance to talk to Govind. I asked him how he would feel about attending Second Chance School, creating a better future for himself. He was very quiet, shy and nervously playing around with a cord on his arm. He told me he would have to talk to his parents, as he was providing for his family. His whole family, father, mother and three sisters relies on his income of approximately 7000-8000 INR a month. (that would be around 95 to 115 Euro's). At the end of this month his older sister marries and he could ask his parents, if they would allow him to go to school, during this visit to his hometown. But they would probably not let him do so.

That's when I asked him, what if we would take care of this monthly income, the cost for Second Chance School, school materials etc. and healthcare bills? If the money problem where to be solved, would he like to go trough the program and get of the market? His face lit up immediately and he answered with a big smile.
Yes, he would love to have an opportunity to make a difference. 
Ashish told Govind that he would need to be telling his parent,s that he would be able to get a much better job, with better wages after attending the Second Chance School and he promised to do so.

We talked for some time and then suddenly, he dropped his head again and mumbled something to Ashish in Hindi. Ashish smiled at me and translated Govind's question. What would I expect of Govind in return for all of this, what would he need to be doing for this? Nothing of course, I answered Ashish, my reward will be to see Govind get a grip on his life and future. Govind looked at me and I could almost feel his relief, it was a touching moment.

And that is where we are now. On the 24. of May Govind will go home and discuss the matter with his parents. I will be traveling to Germany and the Netherlands too, with my family around the end of May. After that, we will be making a holiday trip. When we come back around the end of June Govind can hopefully start his Second Chance life, by the grace of his parents. Before all of that, we will pay a visit to the Second Chance School to meet up with the other guys and here from them how they are all doing and what Second Chance School means to them.

Next time I will be writing about my visit to the Second Chance School. Hope you all will be reading my blog again. Who knows, maybe we could inspire more people to do the same thing? That would be just great. At the Night School I met Gopal, the boy in the You Tube video. Still on the market (a young man now working hard every single day. Still with hope in his eyes, that some day, something will change. Still with a big smile and a friendly word. I just wish I could help more of these young men. They are so eager and willing to learn that they really deserve a chance. And we can purchase a chance for them for about 3-4 Lakh a year (depending on whether the boys/young men are sending money home or not.)You can really change somebodies life for the better. That's one year 350-400 Euro's a month. Might seem a lot, but it buys them a new life,a future. I am convinced that it will pay back to society in the form of working, educated individuals who can take care of themselves and their families.

Bye for now

ps: I did find out that the names Govind and Gopal are linked ;-), coincidence  maybe so, but if I could inspire somebody to help him too, then that would be fantastic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govinda)