Whenever I’m on a side walk or in my car through a busy street a feeling of utter shame and sorrow is felt to see these absolutely healthy and young people begging for money just to buy themselves a days meal and I think
What if these people had access to proper education?
What if they were born into a family which encouraged them to gain education?
What if? What if? What if…..?
Education in the modern world is something without which a person is incomplete. Pakistan being a country where the majority of the population who do not have access to proper education are children, it becomes the right of the community to facilitate and solve this problem. But solving this problem is easier said than done. Most people with short-comings that I have come to ask have this perception of education or ‘taleem’ being “fazool (unnecessary)” as that is what they have been told all their life.
But then when I had lost all hope that these people would not WANT to gain education that is when I stood corrected by a young little boy of not more than 7 or 8 years old when he replied “Of course we want to gain education. The reason we find it unnecessary is that we have survived all this time without it. I don’t think it would make a difference if we gain education now.”Another obvious reason would be that they were not allowed to attend because they needed to go earn for their family.
So now I knew. Now I knew why these children do not go to government schools to get education. Not just because they had to work to make money but cause they did not have the proper knowledge of what a difference proper education can bring to one’s life.
Taleem Sab Ke Liye being an NGO that aims to spread education in general. Not confining it to any age group or financial background. I have been working with TSKL for the past 4-5 months and it had been the most inspiring experience thus far in my life. It’s just seeing the faces of these complete strangers light up when you teach them something new. I have been majorly a part of Taleem Hamesha, teaching I.T so far as being a part of TSKL.
In my first class with the house-keeping staff of Nixor I had this strange almost scared feeling going into class to teach them, but as soon as I opened my laptop to get them started on some basics I saw it. I saw that twinkle in the staff’s eyes that made me realize how interested they were in learning how to operate that device. It made me realize that if given the chance EVERYONE would gain education. Now that it has been some time that I’ve been teaching in Taleem Hamesha it just amazes me how the staff catches on and just keeps learning more and more every day.
“The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated.” - Mahatma Gandhi
In the modern day without proper education a person cannot grow into what he/she wants to accomplish. In Pakistan today there is a dire need of an educated work force as a country cannot grow economically without it. But not just that, education is not only for the sake of making capital but it is for the sake of knowing, knowing the reasons for general things you see around you. Also for the sake of growth. To learn etiquettes and general manners. Generally everything associates itself back to taleem(education). Even if you get basic education like addition, subtraction and a few words of English, it can go a long way. As basic education of Math protects you from being ripped off by unethical people who attempt to give you back lesser money than they owe you without you actually knowing.
Education is the best asset a person can own. It is something which cannot be stolen but easily shared.
Taleem is truly SAB ke liye.
Khushal Piracha
CMO
TSKL