BREAKING THE CYCLE

An IIT Kanpur Students Gymkhana initiative, Prayas, is helping children from poor, marginalised communities around the campus do well in school and join higher education.

- Sheena Sachdeva

Muskan Valmikee joined the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's Prayas, a programme run by the institute's community welfare cell, in 2015. Tutored by students till 2020, she secured admission in Navgurukul, a non-profit that provides affordable technical education to underprivileged girls. Now 19, Muskan earns Rs. 30,000 a month as an intern at Netways, a tech company in Pune. She is also pursuing a BSc through distance learning.

Every year, around 45 children living near the campus join the Prayas centre, run by volunteers, most of them IIT-K students. Prayas was started as a community initiative by final-year B.Tech students in 2000 to educate underprivileged children from Classes 3-12. Slowly and steadily, more volunteers joined, and later Prayas was registered under Students Gymkhana, IIT Kanpur. Now, it teaches around 120 children at a time.

"I am from the Uttar Pradesh board and my school lessons were in Hindi. But through sessions at Prayas, my English-speaking, writing and reading skills improved a lot. My confidence was built," said Valmikee. That's what Prayas does offer academic support to improve performance in schools, build confidence.

"Many children like Valmikee, hailing from extremely underprivileged backgrounds who can't even afford coaching or proper schools, are enrolled at Prayas to ensure they get equal access and opportunities and can break the vicious circle of poverty," said Abhishek Savarnya, a former Prayas volunteer.

Over the years, students supported by Prayas have gone on to join institutions like Azim Premji University and state nursing colleges, among others.

Coaching and competition preparation