Life for a child in India is nothing like life for a child in America. This summer, I experienced firsthand the shocking reality of life in India. Here are some facts:
Children are routinely taken out of school and forced into exploitative jobs
Girls are often married off as young as 8 and have no chance at an education
Only 56% of the people of India can read and write
There are over 200 million illiterate women in India
It was only three years ago that the Indian government formally recognized education as a fundamental human right
Mumbai is home to 22 million people, and over 70% live in slums
It’s estimated that almost half of the children in India are malnourished
This summer, I taught children who live in Mumbai slums. These children were born into extreme poverty. They have little food, live in tin, one room shacks, and walk up to an hour through fields of trash to get to school. Despite having nothing, I have never seen such displays of generosity and kindness. Whenever we gave out food, without thinking twice, children as young as 6 gave their share to their younger siblings, and others put their little bit of food away to share with their families. One of my students, Lada, who is 3, carries around a 1-year-old boy all day because his parents are working so nobody is there to care for him. Despite all of these hardships, they are incredible kids- they're smart, funny, kind, and are motivated to learn.
This all may seem overwhelming, but luckily we can do something about it!
I worked with an organization called REAP (Reach Education Action Programme) to change these children’s lives by providing them with opportunities to better their futures through education and hunger relief. REAP is breaking the cycle of poverty by empowering kids living in the slums and rural villages who would otherwise be unable to attend school. Especially in the villages, girls are married off very young at which point their education ends, so REAP schools give these girls a chance to improve their lives.
Any amount of money makes a huge difference, especially with the value of a dollar in India. Here's the kind of impact you can make:
Cost of REAP Literary Centre
Per Literary center per year $909
Per child per year $36
Per child per month $3
Per child per day $0.10
The money goes directly to the kids- it covers education costs (school supplies, teachers’ training), food, and accommodations (for kids in REAP boarding schools who come from villages).
These kids mean the world to me and have changed my life. Please help me change theirs!
(The picture to the left is a photo I took of some of my students)
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