Spreading Smiles Gyan Kendra

In February 2014, there was a fire incident in Nathupur village, DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon, that adversely affected 65 families living in the jhuggie cluster, most of who had migrated from West Bengal. These families belong to the marginalized section of the society with most of them working as domestic help, garbage collectors, waste pickers and rickshaw pullers. Dr S K Dhingra along with few volunteers with the help of the Village Sarpanch – immediately set up a relief camp in the area. The victims were provided with free medical facilities, food, clothing, utensils etc. as part of the relief operation. After the relief operation, the focus shifted to the rehabilitation of the community. There are 400 families living here (around 1500 people). During the rehabilitation process, it was observed that the children in this area were just whiling away their time. They were involved mainly in rag picking and segregating garbage with their parents. Out of 500 kids in the cluster, only 2-3 children were going to school. Most of the males in this area were addicted to alcohol and drugs. Even the children were getting into the habits of smoking and drinking. A need was felt to educate the young generation of the community and to integrate them into society. That is when the idea of opening a school in this area was conceived. The volunteers went door to door to create awareness amongst the parents to educate their children. This required lot of persuasion, convincing and networking. As a result of these committed efforts, the school was started on 16th February 2015 in a single classroom, it was recently renamed as Spreading Smiles Gyan Kendra. The school started with 30 students and two teachers in one room. The students sat on durries on the floor but subsequently, benches and tables were provided and the number of students increased to 70 within a month.

There are about 500 school-going age children in the community cluster. Currently, there are 300 registered students of which 150 are studying in SSGK and 85 are admitted to CBSE schools. At present, the school is able to cater to only 300 children and the goal is that the remaining 300 children also get an opportunity for education in the near future. There is already a waiting list of 100 children for admission who cannot be accommodated because of lack of funds, space and facilities. Of these 300 SSGK students not a single child is now engaged in garbage segregation, rag picking nor into any abuse.

Through the infrastructure of" Spreading Smiles" Gyan Kendra school at Nathapur Slum, We are able to create a safe space for children, where they can learn, engage and grow for their holistic development. Our actions are planned in a way that children utilize their energy in positive ways. The students are provided with:

•  Free learning material and mid-day meals
• Value-Based Education through experiential learning methods
• Medical check-up and focus on personal hygiene
• A computer lab is accessible to children so they can access digital learning tools

Highlights of the school include: Most of the children are first-generation learners. The school is running successfully into its 7th year because we deliver a holistic curriculum that is a balance of modern education and ancient wisdom.

The gender ratio in this school is 48% girls: 52% boys which is significantly higher than the national average. 90% of our students stay in the school against a national average of 37%. Underprivileged children are brought into the mainstream education system.