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“To this end, we began work in Pune by going to municipal schools where we identified weak students from the economically backward strata of society and started to teach them. The aim was to augment their learning skills. We have this study class scheme through which we take regular one-hour extra classes for students weak in mathematics and Marathi to facilitate their grasping power.” This is seen as a kind of protective measure against children dropping out of school, to opt for work, in the face of falling grades. Doorstep also identified children who had dropped out of schools and started classes for them to encourage them to pursue their education.

Other than this, Doorstep’s activities include having a mobile library in slums for children, teenagers and women, two balewadis in shanty towns to provide the smaller children some pre-school training and a two-month summer camp for children about to enter Std. I. With 28 teachers on their rolls and the project being funded by Save The Children Foundation, Canada, Doorstep has now extended its activities to include yet another creditable venture.

Its latest endeavour is to bring the process of education to children of workers on construction sites. “An extensive survey carried on by us shattered a few myths about the education of poor children. The first was that child labour is not a result of economic compulsions but an outcome of the child’s disinterest in school or the learning process. That compels parents to put the child to work instead. Secondly, we did not come across a single parent who did not want his child to get an education. Even on the construction sites, where there are daily wage earners, the parents’ response to our endeavour was amazingly positive, with all of them willing to share the expenses of school bags and books for their child to facilitate our scheme,” elaborates Joshi.

Encouraged by these findings, the Doorstep School first came to two construction sites in Aundh – Mantri Lawns and Shirin Gardens – in April 1998, to hold joint classes. From there the school extended its activities to another construction site – New Ajanta Avenue, Paud Road, where it even got a helping hand with the developers, Rahul Constructions, offering to bear all the expenses, including the fees of the teachers coming to the site.

Today, with approximately 100 children covered by the project, the school has made meritorious progress. “Most heartening has been the response of the workers themselves, who have been motivated enough to attend all meetings between the parents and teachers and have shown their willingness to send the children to schools too,” says Joshi. “The only change we have instituted here is that we hold language sessions for almost three to four hours as most of the children’s’ parents are migrant workers, with Marathi not being their mother tongue. So we take extensive sessions to ensure that before they move out, they manage to have a foundation in reading and writing that would hold them in good stead for the rest of their lives”.

Alongwith imparting them knowledge on language and mathematics as well as lessons on hygiene and etiquette, the Doorstep School also enrolls them in municipal schools for the next academic year, with the parents’ consent. “What makes our efforts worthwhile is the eagerness of the children to learn and the motivation of their parents to facilitate their learning process,” adds Bina. Thus building a strong foundation for a better tomorrow.