© Niklas Halle'n / Barcroft Media
Teenagers in India’s impoverished ghettoes are being given the chance to turn themselves from slumdogs to scholars.
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A new scheme launched in the capital has allowed 135 young people to enroll in classes at Delhi University.
It means kids like those made famous by hit film Slumdog Millionaire can try to make a better life for themselves.
The scheme, backed by a charity called Asha, the Hindi word for hope, helps in everything from buying books to lessons in etiquette.
© Niklas Halle'n / Barcroft Media
Slum children, mostly aged in their late-teens, are given money for tuition fees and encouraged to dream beyond their cramped surroundings.
“I am the first in my family to attend university,” says Mahesh Sharma, a grinning 19-year-old studying for a degree in geography. “Without Asha’s help I would never have been able to enroll this July.
“My family makes less than 4000 rupees (£50) a month, so Asha assisted me with my admission papers, annual university fees, travel costs, money for books, extra tuition in English and even bought me some new fashionable clothes.”
© Niklas Halle'n / Barcroft Media
Living in the run down Ravi Das Camp slum, Mahesh takes five classes a week at Delhi University’s Bhagar Singh College.
Admissions from slum children are set to rise year-on-year. As well as directly helping teenagers educate themselves out of poverty, it is hoped their stories will inspire neighbours, family and friends.
Asha’s education project, in its second year, is already working to find Delhi’s slum dwellers jobs such as plumbing, air-hostessing and teaching.
“I live in one room with my three brothers, my sister and my parents. My whole family is incredibly proud of what I have achieved,” said Mahesh.
“I am keen to continue studying up to a business MBA level or maybe even a Masters degree.”
Formed in 1988, Asha works to transform the lives of 350,000 slum dwellers in 48 colonies around Delhi.
“We have been working with and motivating families to send their children to school for 21 years,” says Asha programme director Saswati Nanda, 39.
“These are low income families who would rather their children worked than went to school.
“We help thousands of families to find ways to send their children to school and now we are helping send children to university.”
© Niklas Halle'n / Barcroft Media
As part of the assistance offered to the 100-plus young slum-dwellers who are enrolled at Delhi University, regular contact is kept between Asha and the institution.
“Every 15 days we are given attendance and academic progress reports by the colleges at the university,” says Saswati.
“We also offer group workshops for the students to discuss how their university experience is progressing.
“Some are embarrassed to come from the slums and keep that a secret, while others become concerned about keeping up appearances.”
One fact that Asha has been proud to promote is that 40 percent of those attending classes are women.
“My father is a rickshaw driver who earns £50 a month and we wouldn’t be able to afford the fees unless Asha had provided assistance,” says Monica, 21, a first year student.
“My family are very pleased and supportive that I attend university and I am hoping to become a teacher when I graduate.
“They are proud that someone from Saraswate Camp slum can attend the Ram Lal Anand College.”
© Niklas Halle'n / Barcroft Media
One aspect of life that cannot be escaped for the slum-students is explaining their background to new friends.
“I only tell my close friends that I live in a slum and never anyone else,” says Monica. “It’s embarrassing and I don’t want anyone to think worse of me.”
Words by James Nye
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