Udupi: Youngsters in slums fight all odds in pursuit of dreams

Sheeja Moodubelle
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, May 9: Prema (BA II year) wants to be a newsreader while Sharadha (BCom II year) wants to join a company, (BCom II year). Deepa (SSLC) and Santha (SSLC) also have similar dreams. Sounds just like what any youngster from a middle class family might say when asked about his or her aspirations.

However, none of these children hail from middle class families. They are all from Beedingude slum on the outskirts of Udupi district.

Sankappa (MBA), the only post graduate who works with a multinational company in Bangalore has himself picked around 20 to 25 aspirants from his place. All the children in the slum say that he is their inspiration and they wish to follow in his footsteps.
 
Manjunath (BCom), after finishing graduation, is looking for a job. He dreams of becoming an army man. At present he is working as a newspaper boy and also delivers milk.

Five youngsters have finished their SSLC examination, and six youngsters are doing their graduation.

There are 300 houses in the area where more than 2,000 people reside and there are about 200 children of which around 20 do not go to school due to various reasons.

The workers residing in the colony hail from Bagalkot and Bijapur district.  Most of them have been here for 25 to 30 years. Most of the families belong to OBC and very few to SC/ST category.

Their parents work at construction sites and in hotels. Most of the youngsters attend Olakkadu Government School as well as PPC, MGM, and Ajjarkad.

Prema, one of the slum residents, says, “We also send our children to work, to clean temples and marriage halls during their vacations.”

There are issues of basic facilities such as water, electricity, and toilets where they live. The rainy season is a curse to them. Most of the houses are built with fragile steel, weak wood, and plastic, with most of them ending up collapsing when there is heavy downpour. The determination and the self-confidence of these youngsters to shape their own career in the midst of such problems is definitely worthy of appreciation.

Every individual in the district including politicians, parties, officials, and even the public are aware of their sufferings and struggles, yet no one does anything. The people here demand solutions but they get no answers.