TCCI volunteer K. S. Susindar gives a personal account of the challenges and successes of the Alur project

"I was to be married off to our landlord in lieu of a loan that my parents had taken from him. I had no idea what my parents were doing to me. I hit [the landlord] when he came and fled the village in panic." This is the distressing tale of a 12-year-old girl studying at the MVF school in Alur.

The tone of the girl as she narrated the event reflected her courage of conviction. It was a moving story, and our colleague Pramod Chandra, who had been trying hard to restrain his emotions, suddenly found a teardrop escaping from his right eye. This was during our first visit to the school.

Another girl stood up and asked, "Why are you here and what are you planning to do with us?" This question continued to ring in our ears and was a source of constant motivation as we grappled with the challenging task ahead of us.

These are children who have run away from their homes to escape physical abuse and forced labour in the fiefdoms of the rich landlords of the area. They had been taking on the vagaries of nature as much as the walls and roof of the school. It is one of the cruel burlesques of our times that 320 children were living and studying in a place that was once inhabited by chickens — definitely not a case of birds of the same feather flocking together.

After a few trips to the school, our team, comprising volunteers from different Tata enterprises, were convinced that there was a lot we could do to improve the lives of these tormented children. August 15, 2001, was aptly chosen as the day for formally inaugurating the new facilities at the school. The new compound wall and gate beckoned us, and the children greeted us with welcoming smiles as we approached the school in one of our Sumos.

There was a general air of festivity as [S. Ramakrishnan, managing director, Tata Teleservices] and the village munsif unfurled the national flag. The munsif made a passionate speech in Telugu and then SR greeted the children. The kids were later treated to a wholesome meal and the screening of the Telegu film Mayalodu.

As the sun set that day, a warm feeling of achievement suffused our hearts and we resolved that this was only the beginning. After the success of this venture, 75 more volunteers have joined us from Tata Teleservices alone. We are a small army fighting for a big cause.

TCCI brightens Alur childscape — page 1

Uploaded in January 2001