Joy of togetherness prevails over complexity

Joy of togetherness prevails over complexity

  • Category :
  • January, 1 1970
  • 2 minutes read

'Jhopdi Basti' is an area near Bhudan Nagar, Puri Municipality, where few families below poverty line live in small 'jhopdis' or huts. Located in the heart of Puri city, most of this area is sandy. The deprived groups are given permission by the local Tahsildar to use the land for some years and hence all are relieved.jeetu-and-booli-from-orissa

Jitu Pradhan studying in Standard V in Sechan Bihar Primary School, Bhudan Nagar, Puri Municipality says his sister, Buli Pradhan, is his best friend. They both share more time together throughout the day. Buli also studies in the same school in Standard VII. The siblings take care of each other and manage home which is in Jhopdi Basti.

Their mother, Sangita Devi, lost her husband many years ago and strives alone to manage the family. She leaves home by 6 a.m. to look for a daily wage job. She stands at the Mandir (temple) nearby, to get hired by people who have functions at home or halls. There are days when she doesn't get any work and earns nothing.

Jitu and Buli come to school after eating leftover rice with some mashed potato. "Their mother returns only late evening but she can work peacefully since the school is a safe place and lunch is also taken care of. They rundown of the basic necessities like electricity and water also," says their teacher, Prabhamani Devi.

"We study using kerosene lamps and sometimes when there is no kerosene, we try to read with the help of a street light near the main road," says Buli. Jitu aspires to be an engineer, while Buli wants to complete her Standard X first, find a job to support the family and to give good education to her brother.

They cook rice on a 'lakdi ka chulha' which is a make-do cooking unit made out of wooden sticks and twigs. Buli helps her mother to find wood when she has no school. Buli says, "We have never bought dal at all. We make only rice and eat it either with water or potatoes. I like vegetable curry and paneer served in the mid-day meal. We miss the hot lunch on Sundays when there's no school."

jeetu-and-booli-in-schoolPrabhamani Devi says, "Most of our children come from Jhopdi Basti and are in true need of mid-day meals. Their parents are rickshaw pullers, coolies or fisher folk. They find it very difficult to meet day to day needs of the family. Akshaya Patra mid-day meals play a vital role in their growth with required nutriition else it would add to the existing malnutrition percentage." She has also seen that many children lose weight during summer holidays since they can’t afford such meals at their homes.

Tapati Mukherjee, Head Mistress, Primary school says, "Children will be very hungry by lunchtime since they would’ve come to school with just a piece of bread or roti. Even during heavy rains or some disastrous conditions, children come to school since they do not want to miss the mid-day meal".

Swapna Kumar Satpathi, Head Mistress, Middle School says, "Lunch on Sundays is a problem for these children and it is unimaginable situation when the schools are closed during vacations. We hope that Akshaya Patra continues the good work and helps build a brighter future of these children."

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