A luxury most Western countries have that sets them apart from developing nations is that those who are deemed poor often have opportunities to learn, have places to sleep and can receive food through a variety of State Sponsored programs as well as private charities. We can debate how well those work and I would say that the help that the impoverished receive must be vastly improved. Yet, in wealthy western countries, such as our, the United States, assistance is ingrained in our legislation, hearts and minds.
In India, however, the options are more limited. There is a charity which helps to bring opportunities to Indian women and girls. It aims to bring what they consider to be luxuries of an education, food and shelter to those who are in need.
Last-mile accessibility and high dropout rates make it difficult for children in rural India to access educational opportunities. Through its network of Chatralayams, or student hostels, the All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva) has aided in the resolution of both concerns.
The origin of the hostel model came from a conversation Swami Dayananda Saraswati had with a tribal woman in 1999. As he arrived to the village, he was astonished to discover more than 100 small communities nestled within the mountains. In one of these villages, and elderly lady approached Swami, and when he offered his assistance, she exclaimed that the children need to walk seven kilometers to school each day, through unsafe terrain.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati hypothesized that India's last-mile education conundrum may be solved by constructing a hostel network across the country, with hostels located close to schools. Students could live here while attending a local school. The hostel would be clean and orderly, with a focus on giving education and assistance. Tuition, fortified food, yoga, music, and other extracurricular activities are all examples of this. Chatralayams were the name given to these free student hostels.
The first Chatralayam was created in Anaikatti in 2001. AIM for Seva now has 104 Chatralayams distributed across 16 Indian states, and it is via this network that we are able to provide value-based education to children in rural India.
One of these Chatralayan is the Ohm Shri Shiv Sankalp Seva Trust AIM for Seva located in the Uttarsanda Village in the Kheda district in Gujarat. It was established in 2009 and currently is home to 50 young women. The program offers full room and board, education and extracurriculars such as daily yoga, arts and crafts, soccer and cooking.
Gujarat is the 5th largest state in india and is ranked 21st of 28 in human development. While the state has considerably low unemployment rates, female education is not yet seen as a top priority and therefore there are not educational institutions available in every village. The obtaining of trade skills and education past elementary level is often based on luck and the proximity of a school near the village. If a school is too far away, it is simply too far and therefore not worth it for a young girl to travel there.
A Chatralayan, or educational hostel, is an ideal alternative for educating India's rural youth, particularly females, because it provides complete bed and board without the worry of daily travel to and from a hamlet. This allows students to concentrate on their studies and social lives, and students who graduate from such programs are commonly successful upon matriculation, going on to further education or trade work.
The girls are able to get away from the worries of everyday life in the nearby communities, which often involve criminality and extreme poverty. Instead, the girls live in a small, supportive society headed by educated women, where they are free to concentrate on getting good results on standardized tests and enjoying their childhood.
The girls in the program share that they "eagerly participate in all holiday festivities," and that they enjoy learning about new topics such as sustainability. The Chatralayan in Uttrasanda has a garden where many of the girls enjoy gardening and learning about the seasons in which vegetables grow. Some of the students enjoy sports, and recently one of the students won a gold medal in a tournament against other schools.
The program curriculum includes English, math, science, the local dialect, as well as cultural studies and spiritual practices such as yoga. The teachers are all volunteers and the program is run on donations alone. The students "feel blessed that they can be a part of such a program" and are highly appreciative of the donations and volunteers who assist in furthering their development and education.
Some of the donors come from within India, however many are ex-patriots, and even more are simply caring people from far away who believe in the cause. I myself am one of those donors, so is Canadian doctor Naresh Sharma and his wife Kawaljeet are pivotal to the success of the work AIM for Seva and its subsidiaries across India do.
All Chatralayams are overseen by sadhu and sadhvi (religious ascetics) coordinators who are Swami Dayananda Saraswati's devotees. A warden, chef, and helper are among the employees in these Chatralayams. The students in these programs are well-protected and have a safe atmosphere thanks to security guards and CCTV.
The work done by these programs are necessary and yet, the founders like Ohm Shri Shiv Sankalp in Gujarat Swamini Omkaranand hope one day it will not be. That goal can only be reached if these organizations continue. The funding they receive from near and far go a long way towards making that dream a reality one day soon.
