Focus on two of One! International's children.
RAJU
March 2014
Meet the coolest kid at the One! International school in Khar Danda, Raju! Raju is turning 14 years old this
year and is currently sitting in the Step 8 class. Raju and his family have been a part of One! since its inception, but because of family hardships Raju’s attendance at the school hasn't always been
very consistent. Raju has grown from a skinny, scrappy little kid into one of the “coolest” kids at the school, reminiscent of a young, Indian Fonzie.
Raju has a great sense of humor and is quite charismatic, and he really lets his charm and fun-loving nature
shine through when it comes to the girls students at our school. He is at that age where girls and boy start to notice each other, and because our little Raju is so confident and good-looking, he tends to get a lot of attention. Raju is a good friend and has a great attitude.
Raju used to be really mischievous when he was younger, especially after his father died of tuberculosis
when he was 7 years old. But Raju has been making some serious improvements over the last few months. He has started taking his school work much more seriously and his grades have improved as a result. He no longer fights with other students unless he feels that his family or friends are being hurt, and only swears when he’s “with the boys”.
Raju’s attendance at school has also improved dramatically. For the past 13 years, Raju and his older brother Ravi, who is currently sitting in the Step 9 class, would come to the school for a few months, catch up with the students, re-establish ties and then disappear for weeks without a trace, only to show up again as though they’d only been gone for a day. Both boys are incredibly clever, so they never had much trouble
catching up with the other students. But since their family moved to the slum behind the school, both of their attendance has been much more consistent.
Steps at the One! School are different from our conception of Grades. Instead of placing students together based on age, we try to group students who are at similar developmental and educational levels in the same Step. Raju is incredibly smart, but he still struggles every now and then in class because of all the time he has missed of school and years of inconsistent attendance. At the moment he is learning to write sentences and read short stories in English, write essays in Hindi, human anatomy in science, India’s long and glorious history, as well as multiplication and division in Math. If Raju works hard, he can study with the One! For his Grade 10 exams in two years. Passing the Grade 10 exam is the equivalent of graduating from high school in the West. Needless to say, it opens doors and gives our students access to possibilities never thought possible.
Because his father died of TB, there is always constant concern about the health of Raju and his family. A year ago, Raju’s broth-er Ravi was diagnosed with Stage 3 TB, and he was about to be sent to a hospital in Mumbai from which few TB patients ever leave due to its unsanitary conditions. Luckily, the school was able to intervene just in time to keep Ravi from going and provide him with the necessary care and medication for him to fully recover. Raju receives regular check ups, but is very healthy.
In 2009, Raju’s mother remarried. Raju’s step-father has been kind to Raju’s and his brother over the years, and Raju became a big brother himself 5 years ago when his mother had Kiran.
Kiran is a sweet little boy, who occasionally comes to school with his brothers. Their step-father works irregularly selling things, so their mother ultimately supports the family by selling flowers. Ravi and Raju earn their pocket money working at the school doing small jobs and bringing the babies and smaller kids to and from their homes to the school each day.
But it isn't all work, throughout the year, One! holds special events and programs for our students to participate in like Sports Day, Waterpark Day, the annual trip to other parts of India, and the Annual
Program.
The Annual Program is held at the end of the year, and it a celebration of all the hard work and dedication of our students as well as a chance for the parents to share in the experiences of their children. This was a really special year, instead of each group of students performing their own song or dance, all of our students came together to put on a performance of Annie. All the parts were acted out by our students who had to learn their lines in both English and Hindi! Raju played one of the orphans and had a few lines which her per-
formed perfectly.
The Annual Trip is reserved for students with good grades, consistent attendance records, and overall great
behavior. Because of his poor attendance for the past couple years, this year’s trip to Kerala was Raju’s first in a long time. He had an amazing time and was really taken with all the natural beauty, something you don’t get much of in the metropolis of Mumbai.
Raju also had a fantastic time at the bi-annual Sports Day event, where we bring all our students together to compete in a variety of sports. Despite the fact that he is a good athlete, Raju didn’t place in any of the events because is one of the youngest in his age group. He didn’t seem to mind too much though, his favorite sport is dancing!
We are so proud of how far Raju has come over these years and we look forward to watching him grow
in the years to come.
ANAND
Mid-April, Anand was involved in an accident with a
rickshaw. Leave it to this character to be playing on a rickshaw. The incident
left Anand with a badly injured foot, and yet he is still limping around with a
twinkle in his eye and mischief in his heart. Not even a severe automobile
accident is going to stop this one! Luckily, nothing was broken, but he did
lose some skin and muscle. The good news is that there is no need for surgery,
though originally doctors thought this would be required. Just like all the tough
kids here, Anand is healing and recovering miraculously, though he did spend a
few days quietly sitting while the other kids ran and play. For a brief couple
of days, he was forlorn and found comfort in a kulfi popsicle or two brought to
him by his father. Slowly, his spirit is returning to normal, and though he
will probably never have the same range of motion in his foot, he is young
enough that he will adapt and find a new way to do back flips and run around
like the trouble maker he is.
The situation with Anand’s family has deteriorated, and his
parents are no longer together, effectively divorced. Because of this, Anand’s
sisters, Radha and Sanjana have been sent away to live with their grandfather
in a village. Their absence has been a sad void at school.
As far as school is concerned, Anand is showing great
promise; he is smart and knows his letters, but is reluctant to put work in
during class time. Outside of class, he has sought English words to copy, which
he has done with fervour. His final English exam was strong, and his knack for
language comes naturally. He has also found a new friend, Minaz, who is a
trouble maker just like him. They have been practicing all kinds of whistling
techniques together, but have yet to master the loon call, which one of the
volunteers has shown them recently.
We look forward to seeing how Anand grows and changes; he is
turning out to be a charming young man with uncanny intelligence and
personality!
