Take shelter in the school
A heartwarming initiative from the Loreto Day School, Sealdah, Kolkata is reportedly set to be adopted in sixty-five schools across the country:
Way back in 1994, Loreto Day School had started admitting kindergarten students by lottery to relieve little children of the trauma of appearing for admission tests. The state government emulated the example two years later. Twelve years on, another novel initiative of the Sealdah institution — aimed at rehabilitating street children, especially girls — is set to be adopted by over 65 schools across the country.More on the initiative here and here.Over the past few years, a group of street children, mostly girls, is spending nights on the safe premises of Loreto Day School. Out on the street, they would have been vulnerable to all forms of abuse at night.
“Our school is empty every day from 3 pm to 8 am the next morning. We decided to provide shelter to the local street children during that time. They would otherwise have been molested or even dragged into drugs and prostitution,� said principal Sister Cyril.
That’s lateral thinking in the truest sense!
They also seem to be a rather progressive bunch for a 150 year-old school - website, volunteer programs and all.
Comment by km — August 10, 2006 @ 3:40 pm