Australian High Commission brings social change for slum kids
November 12th, 2010 - 10:12 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) As many as 170 children from various slums in the city gathered here Friday to celebrate their joining of colleges after the Australian High Commission funded their school education and brought a social change in their lives.
Working in partnership with ‘Asha’, an NGO involved with these slum children, the Australian High Commission provided funding to support 170 children through their final years at school. With the NGO’s help, the children were able to get admissions to a range of universities, including the Delhi University.
“I believe in the transformative power of education and we are very proud to support the excellent work ASHA is doing to help Delhi’s underprivileged access these opportunities,” Australian High Commissioner Peter. N. Varghese said.
The students were seen interacting with Varghese, asking him questions and thanking him.
The high commissioner announced that Australia would again fund the NGO’s education programme in 2010-11 with a donation of Rs.10 lakh. Further, on behalf of the Australian athletes who participated in the recent Commonwealth Games, the commissioner donated Rs.2 lakh.
“The increasing link between Australia and India in the social sector mirror growth across the breadth of the bilateral relationship,” Varghese said.
Kiran Martin, founder and director of ASHA, said: “The girls are asked to help in the household chores while the boys are asked to earn. To fight all these social pressures apart from the financial constraints is a challenge.”
Slum children studying in prestigious colleges like Maitri, Gargi, Kamala Nehru, and Delhi College of Engineering talked about their experiences.
“My college fee is more than Rs.13,000… my family could not afford such a large amount and asked me to quit studying. I remember I was crying all day. If I didn’t have this NGO’s support, I could have never reached here,” said Nazia, a DU student.
Others echoed a similar sentiment, adding that their confidence levels have increased tremendously.
“I used to be scared to travel alone. I used to look at buses and think that I will never be able to get in. Now I come to college alone, I can travel to other areas of the city without any hesitation,” said a cheerful Rekha.
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- Delhi's underprivileged get Aussie help - Oct 15, 2010
- Sibal to launch program initiated by Australia-India Institute, Indian NGOs - Mar 01, 2011
- Helping slum children dream big - and go to college (Feature) - Nov 21, 2010
- Child rights NGO gets Rs.600,000 Australian grant - Apr 17, 2010
- A milestone for girls in a Uttar Pradesh village - Dec 20, 2011
- Delhi court orders Kiran Bedi to be booked for cheating - Nov 26, 2011
- Bangaloreans' 48-hour run/pedal to fund education - Jan 20, 2011
- Children of lesser god living it out on the streets (Dec 10 is Human Rights Day) - Dec 10, 2011
- Better health services for poor envisaged (Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Delhi's slum children to get Australian degrees - Mar 01, 2011
- Dalai Lama donates money to fight child malnutrition - May 15, 2012
- Now get confirmed admission for Oz student visa - Nov 09, 2011
- Australia announces aid to assist Delhi slum children - Sep 01, 2009
- Oz sports minister launches Rs.200 mn programme for the disadvantaged - Oct 06, 2010
Tags: australian athletes, australian high commission, australian high commissioner, bilateral relationship, commissioner peter, commonwealth games, crying all day, delhi college of engineering, delhi university, financial constraints, gargi, household chores, prestigious colleges, s education, slum children, slum kids, social pressures, social sector, transformative power, varghese