Harsh* lives in the Turbhe red light area with his grandparents, mother and brother. He is currently in Level 4 of Sahaara’s remedial classes.
During the lockdown, Sahaara started online classes as physical classes were restricted. Harsh’s mother had a smart phone and Harsh would walk a few meters away from his house where he could connect to a Wi-Fi connection and attend classes. Understanding that internet recharges will be a financial burden on the families, Sahaara started facilitating internet pack recharges for the children. Harsh too, was able to avail of the internet plan recharge.
But unlike Harsh, many children had no access to smartphone and were missing out on academics. While Harsh was able to attend the Sahaara classes, he noticed that many other children who did not have smartphones were unable to do so. He began to help 4 other students attend online classes by sharing his smartphone!
At 11:00 am, he goes to a Level 2 students house and helps him attend class. At 12:30 pm, he goes to a Level 1 students house and helps the child attend class. At 3:30pm, he attends his own Level 4 class, and at 4:15pm, he helps two Level 3 students to attend class!
He also makes sure that everyone does their homework properly. Harsh has been doing this for almost a month now from Monday to Friday, and all of it with a smiling face!
*Name changed to protect identity.