Farmers Movement Archive

An arts school for poor kid comes up at Singhu protest site

Khushboo Kumari, 9, loves drawing and painting but since the government school she studies in is closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March and her parents are unable to afford stationery, she was unable to fulfill her hobby. Like Kumari, seven-year-old Pawan Singh’s studies were also affected since the classes in the school are suspended and his family was unable to afford private tuitions. But for Kumari, Singh, and scores of other children living in areas around the Singhu border, a tent erected near the spot where farmers are protesting against the three farm laws, is serving as a tuition centre. Here at this tent, they are taught basic lessons and trained in various arts. Set up by eight “like-minded people” from Punjab 17 days ago, the tent initially worked as a space for storing mattresses, blankets and other items for the use of the protesting farmers. Later, a library was set up and books related to agriculture and various farmers’ revolutions were provided to the protesters for free. All eight volunteers behind the initiative belong to the families of farmers but are educated and established in various business and professional fields. Also Read | A month on, farmers have made highway their home“Recently, we started using the space in the tent for educating poor children and training them in various arts,” said Garry Birring, 34, a graduate from the University of Oxford and a resident of Ludhiana, who is now into the business of water purifier manufacturing. Seven others who were part of the group that launched this school-library are Dinesh Chaddha, advocate, Parminder alias Goldy, an RTI activist, Inder Wajwa, a former model, Sukhwinder Singh, Navdeep Singh, Amritpal Singh, and Gurtez Singh -- all involved in farm trade. All of these are from Ropar, Mohali, and Muktsar.Besides the eight founders, several other volunteers teach the kids at school. Sharing the story of how it all started, Birring said they had met at Singhu border during the protest. As sanitation and health hygiene was an issue for the farmers, our group collected money, purchased items and distributed to the farmers free of cost. “We set up a tent and named it Sanjhi Sathh which means a shared or common chaupal (meeting place). Apart from supplying mattresses and blankets, we are now running a school and library in our tent. At least 60 poor children are taught daily. They are provided with free books, notebooks and stationery items,” he added. The temporary school not only provides space to children for free education but it also organises drawing, painting and storytelling competitions and arts exhibitions to make their studies entertaining. The classes are organised every day between 11 am and 2 pm. “Drawing and painting is my passion but my parents are daily wagers and they don’t have money to buy drawing sheets and colour pencils for me. I learnt this art in the school. As the school is closed for the past nine months, I was not able to practice it. My parents sent me to this school run by the farmers when they learnt about it. I can now continue my drawing practice,” said nine-year-old Kumari. The facility that was started by eight people now has around 20 volunteers – all from Punjab – and is imparting free education to poor children at Singhu border. One of the volunteers is Navjot Kaur from Bathinda who recently completed her B.Ed course and had been camping at the Singhu border with her parents for the past 20 days. “I learnt about this temporary school through my friend Kanwal Preet as she was coming here to teach children. Being an aspiring teacher, I found it an opportunity to train myself. It gives me so much satisfaction,” said Kaur. Thousands of farmers are protesting at Singhu border for over a month now against the three new farm laws enacted by the Parliament in September that seek to open up agricultural trade.

Hindustan Times

29-12-2020

Delhi