CHILD Ashram

There are over 11 million street children in India, according to the Consortium for Street Children. Some are orphans; others have been abused or abandoned by their families. They live in extreme poverty on the streets and railway platforms of India, socially excluded, and survive by begging for food, working in the exploitative informal economy, or find themselves recruited by criminal gangs into invisible labour and brothels. Some end up in remand homes or poorly-run orphanages. Many street children have never attended school; others have dropped out. Their lack of education and support serves to limit their future prospects, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

CHILD Ashram was founded by a railway clerk, Ramachandra Sarath, who was moved to change the lives of children he saw living on the streets and railways. His story of the development of CHILD Ashram is inspirational, and Global Concerns is proud to be part of that story.

The CHILD Story

Children’s Welfare Home – Innovations for Life Development’: a home for street children

In Andhra Pradesh, a homely community for street children has become a state-recognised success in providing education, shelter and a sense of belonging, to around 80 boys and girls. CHILD Ashram was founded seventeen years ago, by a railway clerk, Ramachandra Sarath, who had a compelling motivation to help change the lives of the children he saw living on the railway platforms.

“I saw it as my responsibility as a citizen,” says Sarath. Initially, he tried to get the children admitted into children’s homes, but they were refused. He began thinking about opening a school for street children, so they could receive an education and aspire to a better future. Sarath applied for leave from his railway job, and started studying Sociology and Education. “I decided that we needed to go back to the olden days, where rural teachers were like family. We needed a school for street children where we all live like a family.”

However, the first days of the Ashram were difficult. They had no money, and little support from the local community. The Ashram began as just one hut. Gradually, Sarath managed to get donations from villagers, and many times over the last seventeen years, his wife Sunita has pawned her wedding jewellery to raise funds for the Ashram.

 

But to begin with, the children brought from the railway platforms refused to stay at the Ashram. “They would tie the teachers to the beds, take goods from the Ashram to sell in the market, and run away,” says Sarath. “I was laughed at by everyone. They told me that the children were vagabonds”.

 

 

Sarath thought long and hard about how to encourage the street children to stay at the Ashram. “I realised that we had to provide something that made the children want to stay, that made them feel special”. Now each child joining the Ashram is given a new set of clothes and a haircut, made to feel that they belong, and that they have an important role to play in the Ashram. New children quickly realise that there are others who share similar experiences, and informal peer-group counselling is encouraged. Since then, every child brought to the Ashram has chosen to stay.

Today, CHILD Ashram is non-hierarchical, and practically run by the children themselves. Sarath’s role has become that of a facilitator. The children are divided into patrol groups, following the Boy Scout system (Baden Powell was Sarath’s inspiration). Each group is composed of children of different ages, with a patrol leader taking the role of head of the family, and is responsible for looking after the younger children.

Every evening, the patrol groups meet to discuss the day: any needs, complaints, difficulties in classes or with their teachers, and evaluate what could be done better. Later in the evening, the patrol leaders come together with Sarath or another facilitator, to feedback on the children’s views of the day, and discuss and implement any changes that should be made.

Food is grown by the children in the Ashram’s kitchen garden, and any excess produce is sold and bartered in the nearby village. The children take responsibility for determining the food requirements for the week, and helping with the cooking.

Classes last half the day, and children are encouraged to progress at their own pace. The rest of the day is spent working the garden, doing science practicals, and learning Scout survival skills. Many children arriving in the Ashram have never been to school before, and are illiterate.

However, through encouragement and support, the children are now achieving outstanding results in their high school exams, and are supported by the Ashram in whatever future studies they choose. One former street child, who had never attended school prior to coming to the Ashram aged 12, is now studying Electrical Engineering. Another works as a Police Sub-Inspector in Hyderabad.

Some of the children are choosing to return to the Ashram after their studies. Carmella, aged 19, was the first girl to come to the Ashram, after both of her parents were killed. She is now studying nursing, and plans to return to work in the Ashram after completing her studies.

Venkanna and Madhavrao, both aged 17, came to the Ashram as young boys, and have grown up there. Having completed their High School exams, they have decided to work as volunteers alongside Sarath in the Ashram, while studying part-time for a degree in Social Work.

CHILD Ashram has evolved as a sanctuary for children, from the dangers, threats, and deprived opportunities of life on the streets or the railway platforms of India. The children themselves play a central role in influencing the Ashram’s development.

“We want to purchase more land to grow more of our own food, and become more self-sustainable,” said one boy. Another boy expressed problems retaining teaching staff. “Their salaries are too low,” he said. “We need to try to increase our teachers’ pay”. Many of the children were keen to take on former Ashram children as teachers after they qualify.

This philosophy underpinning CHILD Ashram is one of constant reflection, development and improvement, led by the children themselves.

The result, tucked away in rural Andhra Pradesh, provides former street children with dignity, self-respect and the opportunity to choose their own futures.

How to improve the Ashram, from the children’s perspective

The children of CHILD Ashram play a central role in the running and development of their home.

Through the system of patrol groups, inspired by the Scouts, the children meet daily to discuss and evaluate each other’s needs, complaints or difficulties. They decide themselves on changes to implement, facilitated in their discussions by Sarath, the founder of the Ashram.

Global Concerns, on a visit to CHILD Ashram, asked the children how they thought their home could be improved. They told us that they wanted:

  • A vehicle for transportation. When one boy needed urgently to go to hospital earlier in the year, they had difficulty in transporting him.
  • Better sanitary facilities. This was expressed by a lot of the girls, and is a problem across India (many girls drop out of school in India before they have reached 5th standard because there are no toilets or sanitary facilities).
  • Better science laboratories. Many of the children dream of growing up and becoming doctors, nurses, or engineers.
  • Increase the land the Ashram has, and grow more vegetables to become more self-sufficient. Many children expressed the view that they were too dependent on well-wishers, and wanted to produce their own food.
  • Improve nature around the Ashram. Currently the land is very dry and arid.
  • Increase the salaries of staff. The children say that the salaries their teachers receive are too low, which is why some leave for jobs in government schools.
  • Improve sports teams and equipment. The children are currently playing in the local area but would like to play at district or state level.