I wish I had time and friends to play with! I return from school with the school bag of text books and note books. I have home work to complete in five subjects and prepare for tests in two subjects. The tuition master takes two hours every evening. I am not sure whether I get any benefit from this. But I cannot do anything about it as my parents like to do the way all their friends do for their children. I started my tuition classes from the first standard. I feel I have had no time to explore my musical interest or swimming.
Most of the conversations among friends at school is about clothes, films, film stars, the cars and houses our parents own and the holidays we have. I feel bit sick of the pocket money my friends bring. Some of them spend five hundred rupees on a day on food, clothes, and outing.
I too have been overtaken by this life style, till our domestic helper brought her daughter with her to seek my mother's opinion about her health. My mother was shocked to to find her emaciated and out of school. She was working part time in a house to support the family who incurred a huge expense for her sister's marriage and dowry. The family was still trapped in debt.
She was as old as me and it was terrible to think that there was a world outside which denies children of their childhood.
I took up this matter with my friends. We felt that we were living without any knowledge of other children who were different from us. I felt ashamed that I did not know about my domestic helper's family even though she was working for us ever since I was born.
Two of my friends wanted me to take them to my domestic helper's home. My mother came with us. They lived in a slum without water or electricity supply. The two school aged children were working to earn an income instead of being at school. The sight of their home and facilities were too shocking for me and my friends.
It was this experience which made us begin the social service club at school. The first thing the club did was to provide help for five families in that slum to send their children to school, pay up the the debts of two families and help two men to start on de-addiction therapy.
Now my interest has moved away from clothes, films and partying to people. People are too precious to be lost to their unfortunate maladies.
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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