Launch of Shikshaantar

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A simple question by a young, inquisitive little mind, can create a storm and bring a much needed change to the world. This is exactly how the facile intention of celebrating the wonderful festival of Eid Ul-Fitr was conceptualized and turned into reality.

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A seven-year old student of Pehchaan, asked one of the volunteer teachers that, “why is it that we, at Pehchaan, celebrate every festival with pomp and joy, be it Diwali, Holi, Christmas or Independence Day, yet no one has ever thought of celebrating the joyous occasion of Ramazan?” This innocent query left the grown man astonished, while at the same time gave birth to a beautiful idea! A Voila moment, indeed!

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The auspicious day of June 10th, 2018, the last Sunday prior to the day of Eid Ul-Fitr, witnessed the celebration of the festival of Eid, with a lot of happiness and elation, at Pehchaan, the street school. Over 50 volunteers and more than 200 kids participated in this ceremony, which took place at Anna Nagar slums in Delhi. These young, enthusiastic beings faced the scorching Delhi heat to make the event one of the most successful endeavors undertaken by the Pehchaan team. What further added to the prosperous moment was the collaboration of Pehchaan-The Street School with two more laudable organizations, namely, Those in Need & Let’s Spread Love.

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This massive collusion of three exquisite troops was truly commendable and admirable! Amidst laughter and curiosity, the event commenced at 3 pm, in the afternoon, with the Radio Mirchi juice drive. These exemplary individuals distributed freshly processed water-melon sharbat to all the kids and volunteers, participating in the event, helping them quench their thirst, in the sweltering weather. After feeling completely refreshed and energized, the party was started with a little discussion with the children about the significance of Ramadan and how it is celebrated.

We, at Pehchaan believe in learning by seeing, and thereby, always make sure that the kids are aware of the importance of every festival and ritual. India, being a secular country needs more of such acts in order to educate our young minds from the beginning about our diversity. The magical afternoon took a very exciting turn with the advent of a conglomerate of magicians from the team of Let’s Spread Love. True to their name, the next one hour endorsed their motto of spreading love and happiness, bringing a smile on every face. After all, a little magic can take one a long way! The enchanting hour was followed by the extremely talented and little bundles of creativity from Pehchaan, displaying their expertise, with some legitimately thought provoking plays based on the themes of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” and “Dengue Fever”. Given the right opportunity, these little beings can amaze one and all with their deep understanding of the social, economical as well as health(cleanliness) issues, prevalent in the society.

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While the various fun events proceeded in a fantabulous fashion outside, the hard-working members of the Those in Need squad were creating some beautiful memories on their own, inside. Accompanying them in this venture, were the pure efforts of some young ones from the team of Pehchaan, who together took part in the ‘Letter Earthlings- Happy Ramadan Cards’ event.

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The idea was to write letters, wishing a happy Eid to everyone and distribute them at Jama Masjid in the upcoming week. With that in mind, the focus was on the written emotions and expressions which stay with people throughout their lives, and bring a ray of hope and twinkle of sunshine to their lives.

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No event of Pehchaan is complete without the distribution of some adorable goodies for the cutesy children. The same was done, in the end, with the dissemination of some wonderful gifts for the truly- deserving young beings! But, wait, this wasn’t the end of it.

The highlight of the entire day was yet to be welcomed. Without any further ado, the beautiful celebration was converted into a lifetime of memories for the assiduous volunteers and the curious children with the launch of the Shikshaantar initiative by the graceful, ambitious and kind-hearted lady, Mrs. Atishi Marlena, honorable advisor on education to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government.

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This woman is a powerhouse of talent and single-mindedness, who is one of the biggest reasons for the improved conditions of the government schools and the education system, as a whole, in the capital city of Delhi. With her sincere efforts, and blessings, the occasion became the best ever for all the people involved.

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The inauguration of Shikshaantar by such a knowledgeable and inspirational personality, gave a boost of confidence to the team as well as the children. The event was desisted with a final thankful note by the founder of Pehchaan and the kids were sent back to their homes with some resplendent memories, informative learnings, a packet full of souvenirs and a heart full of love!

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