In India, approximately 13.4-40 million (depending on the source) children have never been to school or have dropped out. Of these children, 95% of them have a disability. Furthermore, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed and have a literacy rate of 49%, a drastic difference from the national average (65%).

 

In many developing countries such as India, children who constitute the majority of the population tend to be the most underrepresented in school.

 

Why?

 

There’s no one simple answer. The special education system of India is undoubtedly flawed, but it’s developing, learning, expanding.  

 

Over the past decade, as the Indian government has placed increasing importance on special education, many schools for children with disabilities have emerged. However, most of these schools are concentrated in urban cities, unable to extend their reach to the millions suffering in India’s rural areas.

 

The few schools that do exist in rural towns and villages are shocking. They lack the most fundamental necessities such as running water, light, sanitary bathrooms, and much more.

 

Last summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at one.

 

The Digant Institute for Intellectual Disabilities has become a safe haven for many local students with disabilities and their families. Volunteer teachers, even with the lack of certification or prior experience, have created something profound out of nothing. The students there learn and master everything from personal hygiene to vocational skills.

 

Digant, to me and to many others, is an inspiration. It is a beacon of hope for many families and for the special education system as a whole. It is a symbol for the hope in broadening India’s inclusivity towards their own children.

 

To this day, the small school is thriving as the staff and the families try their hardest to help their children grow, both inside and outside of the classroom. But, they still struggle. Most of the teachers’ paychecks do not reflect the hard work and time they put into the school. Most of the families come from low incomes, with many below the poverty line, and are unable to pay their children’s tuitions. Most importantly, resources such as pencils, notebooks, interactive teaching materials are absent.

 

As a not-for-profit organization, the school relies almost entirely on funds from the local community. However, due to local resident’s and organization’s lack of understanding and hesitation to donate, obtaining funds has become problematic.  

My time at Digant was nothing short of eye-opening, inspiring, ineffable. The students that I met there manage to have a smile on their faces despite the hardships they have to navigate through every single day. The teachers that I had the honor to work with sacrifice their time, energy, another potential higher-paying job to take care of the students as if they were their own children. The community of Digant, to me, proved that despite India’s -my own home’s- flawed special education system, there was still hope, still good to be found.

My grandfather always taught me, "You may not be able to change the world, but you can always do something that means the world to someone else".

 

I would like to believe that my two weeks at Digant last summer left as much of a positive impact on the school, as it did in my own life. Even though I’m on the other side of the world now, I don’t want to stop giving back to the school.

 

So, I began “Dollars for Digant” in the hopes that I could help the school financially, but to also educate my peers of the conditions on the other side of the world.

 

One U.S. dollar is equivalent to around 70 Indian Rupees, so every dollar makes a huge difference. If you would like to donate, please click on the link to the donation site on the top right corner.

 

If you would like to follow me on my journey, please follow my research website @ https://sonalswain22.wixsite.com/e-mc2.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.