Agents of change

Doing our bit: Mani and Saraswathy at a free software exhibition Eager learners: Kids at the computer center are engrossed with their workAn energetic bunch of youngsters use their skills and old computers to bring about change in a neglected part of the citySaraswathy (19) and Mani (16), residents of Sudarshan Layout off Bannerghatta Road, spend their evenings in a small room with 50 children, five computers and two laptops. They are on a mission of helping underprivileged kids get computer literate. Mani, a student of Standard X, and Saraswathy, a student of commerce, were excited when AID, an NGO, set up a computer training centre in their colony in August 2008. They signed up for the programme and absorbed every detail of what the volunteers four software engineers taught them.When AID announced the programme, no one came forward because youngsters in our neighbourhood do not go to school or college, says Saraswathy. I learnt the basics for a month and then I learnt how to make presentations and slideshows, she says.Mani confesses that he has always been fascinated by computers. In school, five of share a computer. I longed to work on a computer on my own and hence I volunteered for the programme. I've learnt quite a few applications. I send e-mail to Arvind, Balaji, Pulkit and Senthil, the techies who trained us, he says.After a few months of learning and plenty of practise, Mani and Saraswathy were ready to share their skills with their friends in the locality, and that's how the evening classes began.Saraswathy doesn't dream of working in a big software company. She wants to be a teacher. I enjoy my evenings in this room. None of the 50 kids who come here misses a class. Many of them do not go to school as their parents cannot afford it, so they look forward to these sessions, she explains.Mani strikes a serious note when he says, The children are mostly ragpickers or casual labourers. The computer sessions are a bright spot in their lives.How you can helpResidents at Sudarshan Layout have taken the initiative to set up a community computer centre, with the help of volunteers from AID and Stree Jagrithi Samithi. If you want to be a part of the programme or donate your old but working computer, Email: ambedkarcc@ yahoo.com