Published: 15th November 2021
Five trafficked children, rescued by Kailash Satyarthi, to study at SRM. Here's how their lives got transformed
The children were rescued from various parts of the country and brought to the Bal Ashram in Jaipur where they received their education and grew up
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The five children who got into SRM. Clockwise from left, Chirag, Imtiyaz, Manish, Sanjay and Mannu | Pic: Sourced
Children's Day brings with it the promise that we should be celebrating children across the country. And what better way to do so than by ensuring the gift of education. On the eve of Children’s Day came the news about five children, rehabilitated at Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi Bal Ashram, who secured admission to the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai.
What's even more heartening is that they did so despite their tough beginnings. The five children — Sanjay Kumar, Imtiyaz Ali, Manish Kumar, Chirag Alam and Mannu Kumar — were once child laborers and their childhood was spent in suffering and torture. They were rescued by Satyarthi’s organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan and were rehabilitated at Bal Ashram where they continued with their studies.
Living and studying in Bal Ashram, all of them passed the Class 12 examination with flying colours. These children have been selected to study BSc (Physical Education), Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Hotel Management, Diploma in Nursing and Bachelor of Administration of SRM University.
READ ALSO : Children's Day 2021: From floods to Diwali to COVID, here's why Nov 14 will see virtual fanfare once again
Sanjay Kumar, who scored 86 per cent marks, has been selected for the Hotel Management and Catering course. Sanjay's determination and hard work is commendable. Sanjay, who hails from Virat Nagar in Rajasthan, has two sisters. His mother and siblings were forced to work in a brick kiln due to a financial crisis. Sanjay was rescued by Bachpan Bachao Andolan and was brought to Bal Ashram in 2010. Among the others selected by SRM is 21-year-old Imtiyaz Ali who got 67 per cent marks in Class 12 in the year 2020. He will be pursuing a Diploma in Nursing. Due to extreme poverty, Imtiyaz had got entangled in the clutches of traffickers who brought him to Delhi where he was made to work for nearly 16 hours a day in a zari (embroidery) factory. Bachpan Bachao Andolan activists rescued him and he grew up in Bal Ashram.
Manish Kumar has been selected to study Physiotherapy. He had got 66 per cent marks in Class 12 in 2020. Abused by his father, Manish ran away from his home one day. Left with no option, he started begging on trains. Securing 64.8 per cent marks in his Board examinations, 21-year-old Chirag Alam has been selected to study BBA. He was rescued from a bangle making factory in Delhi.
