Vacations are for teaching illiterate adults

Like every other student, I wait for my summer vacations throughout the year. The weather changes and the schools go into recess for over two months. The time is special because it is an opportunity for us to go back home and spend time with our families. Being students of a residential school, we don’t always have the luxury of spending quality time with our parents.

But I assume that holidays for me are very different from what my friends in the city are used to. I, like other students in my school, belong to a very poor rural family. While we spend most of the year in the school campus, where we have facilities within our reach, it is not the same back home. Every time I go back home it strikes me that I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to pursue education. Most people back home are illiterate.

During summer holidays, I volunteer for the Special Adult Literacy Drive (SALD). Under this programme, I teach two or more illiterate adults from my village. I teach them to read and write in Hindi; I also help them with basic calculations and tell them how to deal with money.

Additionally, I also help teach at the local schools and sometimes help out the teachers. I try to speak to the members of my community in order to raise awareness about the importance of literacy. I have also conducted sessions with the elders of my village, making them aware about hygiene and cleanliness.

During holidays, we also have to finish our holiday homework, which often includes doing projects, files, and other course-related work. The holiday homework is usually graded and the grades add up to our marks at school. I utilise my holidays to help my community, and also to catch up on my syllabus.

The author is a Class 12 student at VG Dulhera, Bulandshahr, UP

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