“I used to get scolded [by my] school teacher,” reflects Ashima, pictured above. “Sometime my teacher used to ask me to stand outside the class as punishment because I didn’t bring needed things like paper, books, pencil—whatever is needed in the class. I used to stand. I used to be punished, and I used to feel very ashamed and discouraged. When I came home and complained to my mother, my mother used to scold me again, saying ‘Your father doesn’t give me the money; how can I buy all these things and give to you?’ So these kind of difficulties and hardships I went through before I came to the Bridge of Hope.”
Education Without Help
Ashima is just one of many children in her community who often skipped her classes at the local school, preferring to spend time with her friends.
“At least 40 to 50 percent of the children are dropouts after fifth or sixth grade,” shares Kushad, the Bridge of Hope regional financial coordinator who was part of surveying Ashima’s village.
When Kushad first came to Ashima’s community, he quickly saw the plight of the families, especially of the children.
Children who drop out of school are more vulnerable to risks like bonded labor or child trafficking, and they have almost no way to escape a future of poverty.
“When we were doing the survey, at that time we came to know that really such a pathetic condition of the children was there,” reflects Kushad. “We met few children, those who were roaming here and there, and some of them had very few clothes… We were trying to approach them, but they did not care… They were in their own world. They were playing, they were talking. The way they were talking, easily a person can know that they are not getting care.”
The Start of a Center
Starting a Bridge of Hope center is not an easy thing. It’s not that it’s challenging to find needy communities—there are more than can be counted—it’s challenging to determine which communities would be most blessed by a center. That’s why Kushad and his companions conduct surveys to observe housing, ask about employment and determine specific challenges.
Kushad learned about Ashima’s community through the ministry of a Sister of Compassion named Prashanthi, who cared for leprosy patients in the area. She had started tutoring local children and prayed God would start a Bridge of Hope center to bless even more children than she could on her own. A short while later, Kushad joined Prashanthi and another GFA-supported worker to take a closer look.
However, the first afternoon that Kushad came by, they found almost no adults to interview.
“We were going in the afternoon, and we came to know that no one is there; no mother is there, no parent. Whom to survey? Then we came to know that most of the parents are [out] for their work, and late in the evenings they [come back]. So next day, we went in the evening time. Though they came back, still they were not able to talk because they were drunk.”
Sadly, most fathers in this region turn to alcohol for some relief from their daily struggles. Many spend up to half their wages on drink, like Ashima’s father did, causing tremendous strain on the family.
“Most of them are drunk,” Kushad shares. “They are not able to recognize, or they cannot hug their children. That type of situation these children are facing.”
