For as long as he can remember, Parvesh, 7, has been spending his days sweeping thefloors of railway compartments. Every morning, armed with a small broom, he boardslong-distance trains at the Bhopal railway station and collects whatever he can from thepassengers as alms. His daily earnings rarely exceed Rs 30 and every single rupee isnormally spent by the time he calls it a day.
There is, however, now a silver lining to his otherwise drab existence. Parvesh doesn’tneed to spend his nights on the platform or plead in front of bullying cops any longer.Thanks to Nitya Sewa, a voluntary organisation, he now has a home—a place wherehe’s assured of a decent meal and a comfortable bed to spend the night after theback-breaking day. Also, there’s now a sense of security and identity which he’salways missed.
Nitya Sewa has been running a night-shelter for street-children at Bhopal for the lastthree years. Around 50 children, who spend their days doing odd jobs, now look forward tothe evening meals and the bunk-beds at Chandbad near the railway station. Life is so muchdifferent for them now—at least it’s a world beyond sexual abuse, drug addictionor street gangs.
Interestingly, the shelter is run by cops—founded by Asha Gopal, the first womanIPS officer of MP cadre, and her German husband, Claus D. von der Fink, who’s also asenior police officer in Germany. Vivek Johri, a DIG with the state police, manages theshelter as its secretary.
Started two years ago with a small amount of Rs 3 lakh, mainly donated by Germanbenefactors, the shelter today houses 75 children. There are two separate sheds for boysand girls, and most of the inmates are in the 8-14 age group. Food is prepared in anin-house kitchen equipped with all essential items including a refrigerator and cookinggas.
But it’s not just about spending the night comfortably or earning a decent meal.The organisation also runs a non-formal school under the state government’s RajivGandhi Shiksha Mission. Every day the children are coaxed to get up early in the morningfor their four-hour classes. Says the project coordinator, Reena Thomas, like a dotingmother complaining of her naughty kids: "The most difficult part is to drag them outof their beds for the classes. But all of them are showing a keen interest."Impressed with the good work Asha Gopal and her husband has been doing, help has beenforthcoming from different quarters. While the state government has provided free land tohouse the shelter, Dr Ajay Mehta, a local physician who runs a charitable hospital,extends free medical care for the needy children. He has already conducted four surgeriesin the last two years. Apart from education, the children are also trained in somevocational activities like screen-printing and making paper envelopes. Asha is alsoplanning to start a computer typing course for all those who attend classes regularly.
The shelter aims at helping the children understand dignity of labour. Almost all ofthem do petty jobs in hostels or other establishments around the station—while someare ragpickers, many others are cobblers. Says Johri: "Yes, we know that child labouris illegal. But we cannot stop them from working. And we do not want to do it." Inany case, he says, the kids don’t want to live on charity."I was surprised whenmany of them refused to accept old clothes from well-intentioned people. We now plan toput a nominal price tag on the garments and provide it to the children," he adds.Johri also claims that a large number of children have started saving a little from theirdaily earnings. "In some cases, the employers of the kids don’t want them to beenrolled in the shelter. In such cases, we do not take the help of the police. Instead, wego and try to explain to the employers that a healthier kid would only be an aid tothem," says Thomas.
The shelter has a high floating population. The reasons range from a ban on smoking andtobacco chewing to "resistance to disciplined life". But there are some whodon’t want to leave—ever. Thirteen-year-old Sanju, who escaped from his home inBetual because of a step-mother some years back, is one of them. "I do not even go tothe station. I make envelopes and I live here the whole day," he says. Theorganisation can be contacted at: Nitya Sewa Society, 60, Zone-II, MP Nagar,Bhopal—452011.