MESCO ALEEF Bhopal chapter holds workshop in slums to create education awareness

Bhopal (By Pervez Bari): A two-day motivational workshop for creating awareness towards education amongst children and their parents who belong to the have-nots of the Indian society was held in Bhopal on January 7 & 8, 2016. The participants took part in the workshop most enthusiastically with a resolve to improve their lot by giving Education the top most priority in their lives and thereby adore themselves with this precious jewel.

The workshop was organised in Kanchan School in Sanjay Nagar, a slum in Shahjahanbad locality at the foothills of Idgah, by MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter, a NGO affiliated to MESCO of Hyderabad which is working in the field of Health & Education.

The motivators and counsellors who excelled in leaving everlasting impressions on the minds of parents and their wards included: 1. Dr. Afaque Nadeem Khan, Assistant Professor in Bhopal-based College of Teacher Education of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, (MANUU); 2. Dr. (Maulana) Mohammad Arif Juned Nadwi, a senior lecturer in D.I.E.T. & 3. Dr. Sufiya Fatimah Husaini, a medical practitioner, social activist & also convenor of Women’s wing of Madhya Pradesh unit of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The speakers in their addresses put their hearts out to convince and impress upon the participants, especially the parents, the importance of education in one’s life. The speakers tried their level best to make the parents realise their responsibilities and duties and come out of their reverie and spring into action to rear their wards with all sincerity and attention. This in turn would trigger such a chain-reaction that the new generation flowers in such a manner that when it takes its due place in society it gives back something worthwhile and not be just takers while they were in their formative years.

At the end of the workshop the parents and kin of kids, many of whom were unlettered, were so much overwhelmed that they spontaneously raised their hands to learn Hindi, Urdu and Arabic languages along with other regular courses. Some of them who belonged to the dropout category volunteered to resume their studies to achieve the desired results so that they can lead a respectable life.

It may be mentioned here that the untiring efforts of Dr. Sufiya Fatimah Husaini along with her team comprising of Mrs. Tanveer Ali, Ms Ayesha, Mrs. Shabnam Khan, Ms Nazish Naaz and others, in conducting extensive survey of Sanjay Nagar with door-to-door visit made the workshop a big success. These dashing ladies are associated with NGO Nida-us-Safa Education and Welfare Society. The main focus was on dropouts and unlettered class of people who were invited to attend the workshop.

It may be pointed out here that the MESCO ALEEF took the initiative in the backdrop of the visit of Pune-based Sayyed Saeed Ahmed, the International Motivational Speaker, Trainer & Counsellor, to Bhopal in November and December 2016 in his “Udaan Express”. While in Bhopal Saeed conducted workshops for children, teachers, parents and senior citizens in a number of schools, coaching centres and auditoriums and won the hearts of the participants of one and all.

MESCO ALEEF Bhopal Chapter in a meeting has decided to emulate the path shown by Sayyed Saeed Ahmed, who has all India perspective, in a small way by first drawing a road map of Bhopal city to create educational awareness among the have-nots residing in slums in and around the city. As such the workshop in Sanjay Nagar was the first step in this direction. In due course of time such workshops will be conducted in other localities of the city to create an education-friendly environment for all round development of one and all communities.

Saeed Ahmed was on all-India educational awareness tour conducting motivational, soft skills, teachers training, community awareness and personality development program for the underprivileged groups in India. It is for the first time that an alternate educationist has embarked on a Pan India national mission to make each and every citizen literate without confining them to the four walls of a classroom.

Raabta Foundation’s new project entitled “Udaan Express” (Education on Wheels Class Room) is a state-of-the-art Mobile Life-Skills Training Classroom (MLSTC) aimed at empowering citizens especially educationally, socially and economically backward Muslims and also people from different communities to chart a brighter future for themselves through integrated-cum-holistic development of the personalities and character.

Raabta Foundation’s ambitious “Udaan Express” Project completed its all-India educational awareness tour, travelling over 8,640 kilometres across the country. The van had left Pune on November 1 and travelled seven states covering 54 small and big cities so far, teaching them value based education.

Meanwhile, NGO Nida-us-Safa Education and Welfare Society presented new clothes and other gift items to the children on the first day of the workshop. This gesture of the society was highly appreciated.

Some of the elite of the town who graced the two-day workshop included: Er. Suhail Khan, Dr. Shaukat Saeed Khan, Dr. A. H. Ansari. Adv. Sajid Siddiqui, Afaq Khan, Dr. Ghani Ahmad Khan, Nafees Haider Naqvi, Abdul Quddoos etc.

The couple of Mohammad Yaqub and her wife who run the Kanchan School extended all possible help to conduct the workshop smoothly without any hindrance. MESCO ALEEF is greatly indebted to Kanchan School’s administration for their kind gesture. (pervezbari@yahoo.co.in)