THE ENGAGEMENT
In order to give disadvantaged children a chance to get an education, there are countless small NGOs in India that maintain learning centers in slums. So does Concern for Humanity (CFH).
CFH is a small NGO in Delhi that maintains ten learning centers in three communities on the outskirts of the capital and thus ensures sustainable schooling for more than 300 children.
The life of the families living here is characterized by a constant struggle for survival. Even for children who have the privilege of attending the school made possible by donations, everyday life is characterized by hardship and deprivation.
All Learning Centers are located directly within the community, as many younger girls are not allowed to leave them unaccompanied. Women from the community who know the local conditions are recruited as teachers.
THE LEARNING CENTERS.
PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
The centers are usually small and spartan. The students sit directly on the floor, only protected by a thin carpet. If there is a window, it has no window.
This sparseness is of course partly due to CFH’s limited resources, but also partly due to location-related structural problems. Since the entire community was built illegally on state grounds, there is a constant danger of eviction (most recently in 2019!). In this respect, it hardly makes sense to erect a solid and permanent building there.
So the people in charge of Concern for Humanity only have the option of renting space. This alone is difficult enough, because an important criterion for the choice of property is security: The children should learn in a peaceful and enclosed facility that offers them noticeable protection.
Nevertheless, everything that teachers and helpers at the Learning Center improve with their own hands is never for “eternity”. Everything can be very different tomorrow. Particularly cynical: If CFH makes improvements to the furnishings (such as installing glass panes, repairing the roof or painting the walls), the landlord automatically increases the rental price – the property has become more valuable.
The maintenance and organization of these indispensable educational institutions remains a constant struggle for CFH and its volunteers – and is dependent on the willingness of as many donors as possible to help each year.
