What This Lady Is Doing For 5000 Slum Children Is Revolutionary
We are back with our #HeroOfTheWeek series with yet another superhuman who is inspirational in every sense of the word. A torchbearer of a great revolution, Beena Rao is a silent warrior who is fighting the ugly face of illiteracy and lack of education in our country.
Just like we all have an idol who manages to change our lives and ignite the spark within us, Beena too idolized her father. A violinist by profession, her father would teach blind students for free in his spare time. As a child, Beena witnessed this noble gesture of her father, and it left an impression on her mind. She hoped that someday she too could do something good for the society.
She initiated Prayas, a free coaching institute for slum children with the support of her husband in 2006. She kickstarted this initiative with 2-3 children but now has a team of about 35 volunteers who teach around 1200+ students at eight different coaching institutes across Surat, Gujarat.
Beena realized that even after the introduction to Right To Education and other educational schemes, the dropout rate in schools remained high. Prayas not only offers book-based education but also a holistic education that teaches the right behaviour, mannerisms, art & craft activities and more.
Today, her enterprise has grown to cover more than 5000 children who have stopped using abusive language and slang, mellowed down a bit and learnt the basics of courtesy. They have also shown better results in academics, and this is all with just a few months of training at Prayas.
Beena pays about Rs. 1000-1500 to each of her volunteers either by raising the money or many times, from her own pocket. She does not expect anything in return of this but only support of the underprivileged children and their families. She says that the biggest challenge they face is to convince the parents of these kids to send them for extra training after school.
In the words of this hero, “Every day is a lesson at Prayas. People search for God, I see God in these children and when I see the positive change in these children, that satisfaction cannot be measured.” Rao’s ultimate vision is to make these kids as capable as mainstream school-going students.
Her other initiatives include women empowerment, a mobile library, mobile laboratory for students who want to pursue the stream of science, internships, Diwali & Summer vacation workshops and more.
We meet a lot of people regularly, but there are some who are doing some exceptional work without thinking about what they are getting in return. Beena Rao is one of those who are truly an asset to this country and is teaching us all an important life lesson – we rise by lifting others.
Stay tuned as we bring to you many more inspiring stories and updates about our merchandise. Bnwwear strongly supports cause-driven fashion and would love for you to be a part of this noble cause. Check out our latest collection to contribute to the education of those who have dreams but don’t have the means to achieve them.