Making a difference to the lives of underprivileged children

A group of college students is seeking to make a difference to the lives of underprivileged children in a slum in Bangalore by imparting the three 'Rs' of education through a combination of games and 'loads of fun' to nurture their dreams.
They have been unfailingly doing this for some two years, heading out of their campus every weekend as part of efforts of the city-based Kadam foundation with the objective of nurturing the dreams of the underprivileged children in a nearby slum.
Their focus is the basic skills-oriented education programme within schools - reading, writing and arithmetic.
"Teaching someone is not about imparting formal education, nor is it about helping someone prepare for exams. It is all about planting a dream and see the colours blossom. When you teach one kid, you educate next seven generations," Saurabh Jain, a founder of the non-profit organisation, said.

The group of 35 students are volunteers and teach the children through games, activities and 'loads of fun'.
"These kids carry a lot of dreams in their eyes. Dreams bigger than the resources they have. We make sure their dreams never die," Jain said.

Around 72-80 students are part of the teaching team. "Every weekend almost 35 of us are available for taking classes," said a fellow-student Harsh Desai, who founded the foundation along with Jain.
"To begin with, Saurabh and I were just two of us to steamroll such a noble cause. In nearly two years time, we have 70 other hands helping us," he said.

Some members of the team strive to make a difference by getting the poor children enrolled in school.
Rachita Merlecha is one such individual, who made an attempt and successfully enrolled three children of her house-maid in school, Jain said. "How good society will be if we all think about this simple line - your maid's daughter need not be your daughter's maid," he said.
The Foundation's activities are managed by their contributions plus donations.