mid-day 43rd anniversary special: A trans-formation in this Vasai slum

Children from Khan Compound slum learn parts of the body at Alia’s rented home at Vasai East. Pic/Hanif Patel

As the kids in her neighbourhood would mill about the area the whole day after the pandemic kept them away from school, Vasai East resident Alia Milind Pawar decided to put her education to good use. She began playing with them and offered them goodies before coaxing them to study. From two to three children, she now gives free tuition to about 30 slum kids in two sessions.

Despite studying BSc (Microbiology), Alia hasn't been able to land a steady job, a harsh reality for many transpersons like her. To eke out a living, she begs and blesses people. Alia said most people at Khan Compound, where she has rented out a room, are illiterate or semi-literate and can barely pay attention to their children's education. The families barely earn Rs 7,000 a month, she said.

"Since many NGOs give us [transgenders] cookies, milk and chocolates, I decided to distribute them among the children so that they can come to me without inhibitions. When I talked to them, I learnt they were not inclined towards education. In fact, they were happy to get enough time to play as their schools were shut. I persuaded them to visit my place so that I could teach them for free," Alia told mid-day.

Much as she would like to take up a full-time job, Alia said she depends on begging or going for badhai (congratulatory) functions for subsistence. But her commitment to the cause remains unwavering. "Since I also have a daily routine and schools have also re-opened after the lockdown was lifted, I run two batches of coaching. The first batch is between 11 pm-12 pm, and the second is from 2 pm to 3 pm every day," she said. "I have noticed that girl children from slums are not encouraged to study. But after the parents of these children learnt that I have been giving free coaching classes in their neighbourhood, they started to send their girls, too. My aim is to educate every child living in this slum," said Alia, who hails from Ratnagiri.

Most of her students are between 7 and 10 years of age, but she teaches all subjects up to Std X using a whiteboard at her place. "I encourage the students to raise questions if they have any doubt. If a student is raising questions during the classes, it means she or he is taking the studies seriously and craving to learn something," she said. The 27-year-old said her efforts have ensured that the children are devoting sufficient time to studies after returning from school. "Their parents are too happy to see them studying to secure a future. Besides teaching them, I also join them in their street games to relax after work."