Breaking the cycle of addiction
“Why is Rafiq* being so quiet in the classroom?” wondered his teacher. Before the pandemic, he had been one of the most active students in our classroom.
What could have happened?
Let’s backtrack a bit…
Rafiq’s 6-member family lives in one of the poorest slums north of Mumbai.
Back in their village, Rafiq’s parents couldn’t complete their schooling. So his father decided to move to the City of Dreams – Mumbai which offers numerous job opportunities. He set out on his journey to Mumbai, but little did he know that finding basic shelter in this megapolis was going to be a difficult journey.
The city was bursting at its seams with over 22 million people, and Rafiq’s father struggled to find a house here. Rafiq’s aunt, who lives in one of the impoverished slums that Vision Rescue works in, helped them find a place in her slum community. Rafiq’s father settled in a makeshift tin hutment on rent.
It was in this slum, when Vision Rescue’s Community Case Officers were scouting to find children who were out of school, that we met little Rafiq!
Rafiq’s sister had been a Vision Rescue beneficiary since 2016. She was a brilliant student but her parents didn’t understand the power of education in the long run. They were reluctant to enrol her in the formal school for further studies. It took alot of counselling from our Case Officers for them to finally agree to enrol her in a formal school. We even assisted them in her enrollment process.
By the time it was Rafiq’s turn – “He’s far too young to study right now!” said Rafiq’s parents. Over many conversations, Rafiq’s parents were convinced about how powerful and transformative early childhood education could be. His parents finally agreed to enrol him in our Beacon Learning Centre.
Along with quality education, your donations reached out to Rafiq with nutritious meals every weekday, stationery, uniform, school bag, health checkups and dental assessments, and so much more.
“He is actively involved in all the classroom activities,” reported his teachers.
Things were going well for Rafiq and his family until the deadly COVID-19 virus hit the country and a nationwide lockdown was announced in March 2020. His father, the sole breadwinner of the family, couldn’t go out to earn his daily wages anymore.
All that he could do was worry about bringing the next meal home. Things could have gotten worse but generous, kind supporters like you stepped forward to help Rafiq and his family in their time of need. Your gifts reached out to Rafiq and his family with groceries every month and hearty nutritious snacks for little Rafiq and his siblings.
Our Beacon Learning Centre classes shifted to the online mode of teaching and Rafiq was left behind by the digital divide. He didn’t have a smartphone to attend our lessons on but that’s when your donations once again came to Rafiq’s rescue. We raised an army of Education Representatives who would go to the homes of children like Rafiq and teach them on their smartphones.
When our classrooms reopened after the lockdown, our teachers noticed that something was off about Rafiq. One of the most active students in our classroom was being quiet. Our teachers were trying every possible thing to help Rafiq become active again but it didn’t help.
We learnt that Rafiq was addicted to ‘Mishri’ (A smokeless tobacco). Mishri is used in various regions of India as a dentifrice for cleaning teeth and gums, especially by women. Gradually, we learnt that Rafiq had picked this habit up from his mother. With multiple visits and counselling sessions, our community workers educated Rafiq and his mother about the bad effects of tobacco.
Finally, Rafiq gave up on this habit of chewing Mishri . It was such a huge relief for us!
We also engaged Rafiq’s mother in our vocational training courses so she could become financially independent and supplement the income at home too.
Rafiq was finally back on track and we’ve been so happy to see him active once again and this time, not just in the classroom but also in sports. At the close of the academic year 2021-22, Rafiq graduated from our Beacon Learning Centre and we have enrolled him in a nearby formal school.
Rafiq dreams of becoming a Policeofficer when he grows up.
Thank you for your constant support in Reaching out with Love to Rafiq. Your gifts are breaking generational barriers, and engaging and sustaining precious little children like Rafiq in education.
