Let’s treat them with kid gloves

For the battle-hardened street children of North Delhi, Children’s Day is just like any other day, bogged down, as they are by penury and impoverished existence

As the traffic signal turns red at Madhuban Chowk a group of shabbily dressed kids materialise from nowhere and press their noses against the window panes showering loads of blessings and asking for some money (mind you not a rupee or two). For these unfortunate kids, Children’s Day has no meaning while the fortunate ones will be celebrating the day with great zest and zeal next week. Life for these poverty-stricken children will be nothing short of Dickensian, spent on the dusty roads and at traffic signals.Dr Haim Ginott rightly said, "Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." So what are these slum children are expected to become. November 14 will be celebrated as Children’s Day in the entire world leaving this section of the society untouched. When NDP spoke to a few of them, Children’s Day didn’t ring any bell to these little street kids. Asked about Chacha Nehru’s birthday, all that Ganeshi, a beggar at Shakti Nagar Signal could say, was, "Chacha Nehru ne hamein azaadi dilayi thi." Another girl named Sarita at Kamla Nagar market, reclining against a weighing machine, was not even aware of such day.The irony is that where the schools are organising special programmess and the parents are planning a day out for their younger ones, these adolescents bearing the burden of their younger siblings will still be found on the same signal asking for money. No matter what others might think of them, they seem to be enjoying with what they have. Unlike other privileged kids they cannot afford the luxury of throwing tantrums at whatever food their parents offer them. These kids would also prefer to try their luck with the passers by. "Whenever I cross any major crossing like, Madhuban Chowk or in Kamla Nagar or any other market, these kids would come rushing to you asking for that left over coke and burger," says Rajni Sharma from Shakti Nagar. And how about offering them proper food? “They don’t want that,” quips Rajni. “They want the same coke, burger or pizza that you are eating.”They may get on your nerves by following you at the traffic signal, outside every multiplex and malls with their pleading voices. But they also deserve to have a day special for them. There are quite a few organisations working to help these street kids lead a life of dignity, but the reality is something else. Most of the parents have problem sending one of their earning members to some schools and waste half the day. "We are trying to wean these street kids away from this degrading life by bringing them to our organisation and educate them. Though to achieve this, we need to convince their parents that we are not going to take away an earning member of their family. Rather we will utilise those free hours of the day when they are not doing anything," explains Dr Bhavna Barmi, a social activist from Swashrit. While most of us sympathise and, at the most, make peace with our conscience by giving some money to them, the need is to hold their hands. Small tokens or gifts are enough to motivate the kids to come to school for a few hours during the day. So this Children’s Day let’s take a pledge that every one of us can utilise some of our precious time to make someone’s life better.