The Just Ed society recently organized a welfare program for children living in the nearby slum. School students who participated in the program were to provide basic lessons to the children in an effort to live by the Just Ed society’s motto “Justice in Education”. One of the participants, Abhilash Jena(12-E) gave an account of his experience of the interaction that took place.
“When I got to know that I would be teaching underprivileged students, the first thing I thought of was that it would be next to impossible for me to sit with students who did not get basic amenities like the rest of us. I also felt that it would be difficult to control my emotions when I would be interacting with them. But, Ms. Grace truly empowered me by telling me that I would feel better about myself as a person after teaching them as it would be one of the most valuable contributions in terms of Education, which is the true spirit of Just-Ed Society.
When I started teaching them I realized that regardless of the fact that they did not get basic facilities and comforts of life, they were still quite happy and content. They never acted as if there was something missing from their lives. It was then that I realized that whatever time I had in my hands is what I should sincerely use to teach them and to the best of my abilities.
On the last day I was upset to part ways because I had somehow developed a connection with the children. To my surprise, even the children were unhappy. They asked me if we would ever meet again. The most touching moment was when one of my students -a small girl- approached me with a note saying “thank you for teaching me”. They were all looking at me as I was leaving because they knew that we would probably never meet again.
One thing which I understood that day was that while the whole world is running after money and materialistic things in search of happiness, these students have shown me that those things never give you true happiness.”
