Girls who overcame their circumstances

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There were eleven of them, looking elated and at the same time humble, as people came up to them to heap praise for the play they had just staged. In the play, the girls had talked about the ill-effects of substance abuse, how it destroys a healthy life. Not even for a moment could one imagine that the girls had come from the most disadvantaged circumstances. Rescued and rehabilitated, the children seemed to have long forgotten their nightmares and on Tuesday appeared all spruced up to begin their new academic year in schools. The girls are inmates at the Mahila Shikshan Kendra (MSK), Kariavattom, run by the Kerala State Mahila Samakhya Society (KSMSS). They are from disadvantaged circumstances, suffering the unfathomable for girls of their age. But time has healed them to the extent that they can now adorn any stage, stand beside Ministers and dignitaries and astound one and all with their confidence. On Tuesday, they displayed it by staging a play at the Achutha Menon Centre at Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology.Hafsath is from Malappuram, Shafna and Rehna (sisters) are from Kannur, Harishma belongs to Ernakulam and Divya to  Kollam. Twin sisters Shanti K S and Sandhya K S are from Keezhathingal. The others are Vidya, Athira S, Athira T K and Ajitha S. At the MSK, which is their home now, they are all related through their experiences. "When they arrived here, they were broken. But look at them now, they have emerged strong,’’ said Sreeja, Junior Resource Person of KSMSS. Initially, the girls were provided with the support and care they needed, brought back to studies slowly. They attended classes run by MSK. Now, almost all of them go to regular schools. They have made friends and participate in the extra-curricular activities in their respective schools."This is our second play on substance abuse. We have staged plays on the theme of dowry and child labour,’’ says Hafsath proudly. She is a plus-two student at a government school in Pattom. The other girls are attending other schools in and around Kariavattom. Their uniforms are ready, books all neatly bound, they tell us. But ask if they love to study at MSK or the other schools, most of them prefer their teachers at MSK, who have been teacher-mother-friend bundled into one for them. "They take a little time to accept anyone or anything. But they have special capabilities, which is why they could take on life’s bitter experiences. Most of them are brilliant, and only need that extra push to get going,’’ says Ragini, a teacher at MSK. In Thiruvananthapuram alone, there are four MSK centres, while there are seven in Idukki and one in Nilambur. However, it is at the Thiruvananthapuram centres that children rescued from disadvantaged circumstances are lodged. "Our objective is to provide the children with opportunities of schooling and to bring them back to mainstream education. They are children who need special care and attention. Healthy discussions, art, music and theatre help them to recover and return to normal life,’’ says Seema Bhaskar, State Coordinator of KSMSS. On Wednesday, another academic life will begin for them. The girls tell us they are really looking forward to it.