HONG KONG — China and India, Asian giants with a staggering 2.5 billion people between them, have a big problem with their youth. No matter how much they increase education funding or how quickly they build universities, there is no way there will be enough places for everyone. Even if there were, the reality is that not every young person has the academic background, motivation or desire to complete a four-year university education. For Asian parents, a college diploma is the ultimate status symbol for their children. But, on the ground, there are simply not enough well-paid jobs to [Continue Reading...]

  As my internship here at ETASHA comes to an end, I wonder where was this sense of peace and clarity that I come to know while working here. I recall the summer holidays in 11th and 12th, when quite a few of my friends were interning at NGOs for various reasons such as ‘personal satisfaction’, which more often than not they were doing simply to obtain a certificate to support their college application. I still remember saying, that having finally gotten a break from studying all I wanted to do was relax and chill. Now a year later I [Continue Reading...]

After a long week of a common cold and jobless bed rest, one blazing hot afternoon I decided to visit ETASHA’s Madanpur Khadar training centre. Since I wasn’t sure of the metro route I went via auto. Very reluctant to take me, the driver said, “Khadar toh bekar jagah hai madam,” (it’s a hopeless filthy area) but somehow he agreed to drop me for an extra Rs. 50 but getting there provided its own obstacles. After a bumpy 35 min ride I reached Samosa Chowk and then next was in ETASHA’s office. Two classes were running simultaneously and so I [Continue Reading...]

  Watching newspapers and channels flashing headlines about minors and adults being raped, molested and assaulted I lost all faith in humanity. It made me wonder, “What has my country come to? Is this really how things are going to be?” Cries for justice fall on deaf ears and the authorities seem to turn a blind eye! Ultimately the victims are left to their own devices and to fend for themselves. Traumatic? Isn’t it? These were the “Damini Days“, as I would like to call them. The days when people raised their voices and gradually started losing hope. One often [Continue Reading...]

“But Sir, what should we do after class????…here we can talk to our teachers and students but once we are outside, there is no one with whom we can talk. We don’t live together, so we can talk to each other only when we are in class.” Then I gave them the Idea of texting each other in English because I noticed they all have mobiles with them. This idea appealed to them especially with Prakash (name changed). He even asked for my number so that I can correct him whenever he texts me and from  the very next day [Continue Reading...]