By Purushendra Singh

My name is Purushendra Singh and I am 21 years old, in my final year in Delhi University, studying political science, sociology, international relations and tourism marketing. Political science is the subject I like the most as it revolves around political systems,institutions and governmental bodies and the working of judiciary and executive bodies. I started my schooling from the Loharu Montessori Children’s Houseat the age of 3 and completed my schooling from Mayo, a boarding school in Ajmer, where I took humanities as my stream.

I went to play school when I had just learned how to talk and walk. The first day was like a roller coaster ride, I remember my grand father, who was in his late 70s, with his lean body and spectacles, dropping me at the entrance. He was the one who encouraged me the most and who also helped me later on with my studies. As we approached towards the class I started weeping and did not feel like leaving him; he consoled me and bribed me by saying that a new remote control car will be waiting at home when I would return back from school, so I wiped my tears and entered the classroom waving back at my grand father with a smile. The best time I spent there was near the cage where birds and rabbits used to live and in the playground that had swings and a clay area. I used to spend most of my time sitting in the clay area making things. As we all were very young and cranky, the teachers let us choose the activity we wanted to engage in and just kept an eye on us so that we would not feel alone or left out and then cry. There was not so much pressure put on the children for them to learn numbers and alphabets, rather it was away of learning where the child’s inclination was taken in consideration. As my first day came to a close, I rushed towards the main gate and there was my grand father, waiting for me. I gave him a big hug and told him about all the activities of the day. On reaching back home I was given a chocolate and I had already forgotten about the remote car.

In 2009, my mother’s dream came true when the Tushita Foundation was opened. A strong-headed lady, she wanted to work for the poor section of society and the Foundation she was heading allowed her to do so. I was 15 at that time and could really connect with those students at the Foundation who were almost of the same age. I have been going there from the beginning to teach Geography and English, and also to play soccer and cricket with the students in the playground that we have created. I love spending time with the Tushita Foundation students with whom I can share my experiences and knowledge, hopefully helping them to grow.

On 22nd March 2015, after 16 long years, I had the pleasure of going back to my first school, where I had a number of good memories, along with two children, a teacher, a volunteer and my mother, now the director of the Tushita Foundation. The Loharu Montessori Children’s House was celebrating their annual day and this year had decided to offera gift to the children of the Tushita Foundation. Every year in fact, the children of the Loharu Montessori House sell their artwork to their parents and gift the proceedings to a noble cause. This year they invited the Tushita Foundation’s children for their annual day and gave them in a cheque all the money that they had collected. It was very touching to see children, at such an early age, learning about their capacity to give, learning about generosity for the more fortunate children of the Loharu Montessori House, and learning about their capacity to graciously receive, to accept with gratitude, for the village children of the Tushita Foundation. Beyond the actual gesture, there was a beautiful exchange of emotions transpiring through the children’s smiles at each other.

The little ones from the Tushita Foundation thanked their generous hosts from the Loharu House with a big banner and now the money will be put to use by providing every child with a bag and an English course book in it. For us the adults facilitating this experience, it was truly heart-warming to see the possibility of a meaningful connection from child to child.