Children of lepers to get education in Haridwar

New Delhi, Aug. 1 : A group of non-governmental organizations here have taken up the responsibility to educate about 50 children in Uttarakhand's Haridwar city. They belong to Leprosy affected parents involved in begging in the national capital.

Bachpan Bachao Andolan and a few other NGOs will ensure that these children get proper education and gain a social identity. Parents of these children reside in an isolated camp of South Delhi.

The NGOs objective is to remove the stigma from children's mind that they cannot get education just because they belong to Leprosy affected parents.

"These kids are absolutely normal even though their parents are suffering from leprosy. but yet they have been condemned from the facilities of society. Even though having provision of government reservation for them, they don't get work. We thought of establishing them in the society through education with a one-point programme of sending their children away from this atmosphere to study," said Swadesh Pal Gupta, an NGO worker.

Children are delighted that they would now be able to study like other schoolchildren in a new city.

"I am going to Haridwar to study and become a doctor when I grow up," said Sudip, son of a leper.

Another girl who is going to Haridwar to study said: "I never studied here but I want to stay in Haridwar and study so that even I can be successful one day." The R.K Puram area in South Delhi houses the Jeevan Deep Kusht Ashram, a cluster of houses of about 125 leper families. The adult members of this cluster are afflicted with leprosy.

Social stigma of being the children of lepers has dissected them from the mainstream of the society.

"I face a lot of problem when nobody gives admission to my children in schools. They had problem with our disease. Therefore I am sending them to Haridwar so that they can study," said Pawan Kumar, one of the Leprosy affected parent. By Shatabdi Biswas

ANI