Kalimuddin brings younger kids to school

Eleven year old Kalimuddin studies in grade 1 at an Apna Skool education centre in Kanpur. His family migrated from Barbata in Assam and his parents Sidique Ali and Marjeena are both rag pickers. The children are engaged in rag collecting and sifting for recyclable things from 5 AM to 1 PM, so the Apna Skool near this locality begins only at 2 PM. Kalamuddin is a serious student and works hard with his lessons.

Kalimuddin’s family and their community of rag pickers live in a small cluster of makeshift dwellings constructed out of polythene sheets and other waste material. They set up their ‘baastis‘ wherever they find a vacant piece of public land. Earlier the Apna Skool centre was located close to their baasti, but when the illegally constructed baasti was demolished, the entire community had to move to a new location several miles away. The children now have to travel about 4.5 miles to get to school and back.

Kalimuddin not only wants to maintain his link to the Apna Skool, he wants the other displaced children to go to school too. He has, therefore, voluntarily taken on the task to brining four younger children to school in a make-shift cart tied to his bicycle. The long journey, which is undertaken after a full day of working as a rag-picker tires him out, but his desire for an education and for ensuring the education of other children is so great that he undertakes it quite cheerfully.

Thank you, Praveena/ Srikanth, for donating one full year of nutrition and one full year of medical care to Kalimuddin.  The meal he receives at Apna Skool is the only good meal he gets in a day, and the medical check ups will ensure that he remains physically strong.

Thank you, Scott, for donating two sets of uniforms to Kalimuddin.

Thank you, Anna, for donating a year of study materials.

Your generosity would ensure that Kalimuddin continues to attend school and serve as role model for other children in his community.