Shobha Warrier on the Hope Foundation, which is converting dreams into reality

A slum is an unlikely place for a computer training centre but that is where the Hope Foundation Computer Training Centre had existed for the past three years. However, the foundation has now decided to shift its operation from its original location -- one of the biggest slums in Chennai with nearly 50,000 residents -- to a room in a school.

Mahendran

"Most students preferred going to a proper centre than one located in a slum. So we decided to move from the slum to this school," said Dr Ashok Kumar Prabhat, CEO, Hope Foundation, India, a charitable organisation affiliated to Hope Worldwide.

It all began when Dr Prabhat, Johnson Premkumar -- the centre's co-ordinator -- and a couple of others began providing health care to the slum dwellers. "We found that many students dropped out of school and many discontinued their studies due to lack of finance. Some of them then engaged in menial jobs," explained the doctor.

On speaking to the kids, they realised all of them showed a great desire to learn the use of a computer. Hence a training centre was started right there in the slum, exclusively for those who lived there.

Needless to say, the response was tremendous. Most of the students were either attending college or working. When Mahendran -- who works as a helper in a mechanic’s shop at night -- heard about the course, he was enthusiastic enough to forego sleep and join the centre.

Dr Ashok Kumar Prabhat

"It was like a whole new world had opened in front of us," says Sivakumar who was compelled to find a job after class XII. Confessing he dreamt of becoming a computer engineer while in school, he says he couldn't wait to enroll himself in the course when he discovered the nominal fee.

"Till then, I had only heard about computers, and only in my dreams had I worked on it. I had seen the well-to-do students of my school talk about computers but I could never even touch one. We were so poor that I had to discontinue my studies after the 12th standard [Class XII]," says Mahendran, who is also pursuing a B Com degree through a correspondence course.

He believes there is no future for him if he is not computer savvy: "I do not want to remain a mechanic’s helper. I want to be a computer engineer and work in an organisation like Wipro!"

But, with just one computer to start out with, the going was not easy for the foundation. It was only later that a couple of software firms volunteered to donate some PCs.

Sivakumar

"I did not join here because it would help me get a job; I joined here to learn. There are several poor students who have dreams like mine but no opportunity. My dream is to start a computer school for them in one of our localities,” he continues.

Neomi, the instructor, concedes that though most students find it difficult in the beginning because of their unfamiliarity with English, it is only a matter of time before they get over the handicap. "I am amazed by their enthusiasm and talent. Some of them are very creative."

A case in point is 29-year-old Dhina, one of the few residents from the fishermen's colony who was able to finish his graduation and now works as a data entry operator. "As I work on the night shift, I decided to make use of this facility. Otherwise, it would have been difficult. I want to go up in life, achieve many things. And without good knowledge of computers, you can't do anything these days,” he says.

Johnson Premkumar

The six-month course -- which usually costs around Rs 9,000 outside -- was made available to these students for Rs 100 a month. In the beginning, Hope Foundation offered the course free but soon decided to charge the token amount.

The students are taught computer basics, operating systems, MS Office, DTP, CorelDRAW, Database Management, etc. The foundation has collaborated with Shramnik Vidyapeeth -- a government body under the human resources development ministry -- which conducts the examinations. Some of their students have already been placed with different firms.

Dhina

Neomi says the students also expressed a desire for language courses at the centre, but the lack of staff and facilities has till date proved an unsurmountable stumbling block.

Dr Ashok Prabhat believes the centre can one day tie up with various corporate offices and help provide jobs for qualified youth. "I don’t think ours is an impossible dream. It can be achieved. We will be extremely happy the day one of our students becomes a programmer."

Photographs: Sreeram Selvaraj

Project Hope