Sushila (name changed) is a 30-year-old mother more eager to celebrate Children’s Day on November 14 than her three-year-old son.

Sushila always dreamt of a bright future for her son but her profession of a sex worker had been a setback.

Now, however, Darjeeling-based Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) along with another non-government organisation FXB India Surakasha has decided to start the Suraksha Learning Centre from Friday for children of sex workers at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar district.

“We always wanted to reach out to these people but it was difficult. The Covid-19 pandemic came as a blessing in disguise as we could come to this place to distribute ration and help us understand their problems,” said Nirnay John Chhetri, founder of MARG.

They are working with 120-odd female sex workers who desire to educate their children but are worried of the discrimination the latter face outside the community owing to the profession of the mothers.

A study conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in 2019 said that children of traditional sex workers often face abuse and discrimination at school by students from other communities. Hence, they prefer to live in isolation from the rest of the society, the study, based on a set of questionnaires given to 1,000 respondents, had stated.

At Changrabandha, some 80km from Cooch Behar town, only 10 young girls out of 100-odd children go to a nearby government school.

“To start with, we have decided to cater to the first batch of 30 children below the age of five,” said Chhetri.

The NGOs have roped in a graduate from outside the communityto teach the children. Plans are afoot to introduce extra-curricular activities such as storytelling, dance, singing, football and cricket for the children.

Sex workers are keen on this project. One of them even sold her land to construct infrastructure with a plan to set up a school in the area. “We have now taken that space on hire for a monthly rent of Rs 10,000,” said Chhetri.

MARG also received help from well-wishers like Himalayan Yoga Bliss to start this new initiative. “We also used funds collected during a recent marathon in Darjeeling for this project,” the social worker said.

Apart from starting a learning centre for older students, MARG is also looking at starting livelihood generation projects like poultry to fund the educational project.