- Md Ibrahim sat with his granddaughter in her school to make a drawing, a break from his routine of churning out plastic footwear straps.
- Amam Ara sang a nursery rhyme with her granddaughter before going back to sell aloo chat in the evening.
Grandparents had turned up at the early childhood learning centre of the NGO Ek Tara for a grandparents’ day celebration a few days ago, an annual practice in many private schools but a novelty for those who struggle with daily needs.
Most of the grandparents who gathered at the centre are daily wage earners or domestic help. For many of them taking a day off means giving up a day’s income. But they still came.
And many could not.
Invites were sent to the grandparents of all 220 girls enrolled at the Topsia centre, from the age group of three to five, and 50 of them turned up for the programme.
Md Ibrahim, who can barely read or write, said he was happy.
“I am happy to see that my granddaughter comes to school to learn. I was treated with respect in her school, something that is new for me. I had not experienced it in my life before,” said the 48-year-old.
The NGO said it wanted to involve and engage the entire family in the upbringing of the girls so they do not withdraw from school after a few years, said Vinita Saraf, founder and trustee, Ek Tara.
“I think such engagements go a long way in changing the mindsets of family members who are resistant to sending daughters to school. When they see the place they
realise how their children are benefitting, not just academically but also through various development activities,” said Saraf.
“We want to ensure continuity so that the girls are not withdrawn from the centre after a few years,” she said.
Many of the grandparents call the shot in their families and run the household.
The engagement therefore has to be not just with parents but also grandparents, the NGO said.
The learning centre organised various joint activities for grandparents with their grandchildren: drawing and solving jigsaw puzzles, for example.
The grandparents got a break from their everyday drudgery and danced to popular Bollywood numbers.
“Many of these grandparents married early and are young themselves. They are stuck in the cycle of poverty but they are aspirational for their grandchildren. We
see not just grandmothers but also grandfathers investing their time, which is a
big positive step,” said Shuvasree Biswas, executive
programme manager of
the early childhood learning centre.
Alam Ara, in her late 40s, makes it a point to take her three-year-old granddaughter to the centre every morning despite having to manage a stall for the family’s livelihood.
“I set up my stall in the morning, take my granddaughter to school, return to work and again fetch her in the evening. Even on my busy days, I don’t like to give her an off from school,” she said.