SHLLONG: Financial hardships have put a brake on the efforts of winners of several awards, ‘Spark – Bringing Light to Lives’, a non-profit social service organization catering to the educational needs of children from the economically weaker section of the society. The social service centre is providing education to all those children who are involved as rag pickers, domestic helpers, child labourers, street children, slum children, cow-boys, distressed and vulnerable children from its five centres viz Paltan Bazar (Iewduh), Ponkung, Mawlyngreh and Mawlong village in East Khasi Hills district and Rangmen in Ribhoi district.
Shima Modak, who initiated this project in the year 2010 with Shishu Shiksha Ghar (SSG) – Children’s Home of Learning was registered as Spark in September, 2014. SSG continues to be one of its important components.
Modak said that financial constraint is the biggest hurdle that she is facing in realizing the aim of her NGO, “Education a Reality for Every Child”.
“At the beginning of every month, I have to think how to pay the teachers. Now, somehow I am managing it by borrowing from others,” said Modak, whose organization has received the prestigious North East Social Impact Award, 2015.
The award winning social service worker said that the only source from where financial assistance being received towards teaching learning process now is Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which too is not regular.
This award was given in recognition for being a socially and relevant program for bringing in both quantitative and qualitative social and development impact benefitting people, groups and communities at large.
Modak further informed that several approaches were made to the state government but it has shown an indifferent attitude. Similar attitude is also preventing Spark’s efforts to provide education to all.
“Villages are not accepting our work despite the humanitarian effort,” she said.
But the attitude of the villagers is also attributed to their poor economic condition. Modak shared what she faced in several villages in Meghalaya where parents prefer to send their wards to work than schools. This trend is also visible in the urban Shillong and other towns in the state. However, Spark has been able to light up the lives of many. From a humble beginning with 73 children, they have more than 400 children in five centres today.
“It is good to see children carrying school bags and not rags,” said Modak who received the Sree Narayana Guru Social Service Award, 2013 from the then Governor, Dr KK Paul.
Others area of concern for Spark – which received the Award for Recognition, 2014 from Education Department, Government of Meghalaya – is trained workers, manpower and likeminded people.
“I am working all alone and sometimes it is very difficult to carry on. We have nil infrastructures and conducts our classroom on the ground,” Modak said.
However her centres every year are providing special training out of school children and mainstream them to different schools for formal education. The centre is also looking into the health and nutritional needs of the children in collaboration with the health department and other agencies.
Modak said that she adopted a right based perspective especially to address the educational needs of the children in distressed situation under SSG programmes. “Few corporate houses, both from the private and public sector, have appreciated our effort and have shown interest”, she said.
The centre was also nominated for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Award and Rajiv Gandhi Manay Seva Award for Services to Children
