Tamanna’s story is that of true grit and perseverance. Eldest of seven siblings, she had to drop out of school at a very early age. However her aspiration to study grew with her age and she found the in-road to Delhi when one of her neighbour approached her with a proposal of completing her studies in the city. Soon as she arrived in Delhi her dream was shattered when she found herself as an easy victim to be engaged as domestic worker in the family’s residence.

For 4 long years she remained a mute victim to the atrocities committed to her by the family. It was only after this that she was rescued and was united with her family in Delhi. She came to learn about the HiWEL Learning Station at a community awareness drive that a HiWEL facilitator was carrying out near her residence. She didn’t know what a computer is and saw it for the first time at the Learning Station. Ever since then, she has remained the most regular learner at the Learning Station and spent most of the time learning English.

She says,” I started with alphabets and now I can frame sentences, point out noun, pronoun, tense etc. I also like Math and can solve basic equations.” As was observed, her command over other subjects like general science, EVS etc. is phenomenal. In her words ‘’ With the help of computer I learned everything, this is very beneficial for children of poor families. With the assistance of the madam I learnt many new things all this had been possible because of this novel scheme run by the Government & HiWEL”. Today, at 14, she has one motive now- to be mainstreamed into formal school. She wants to study in 10th class.

Santosh (name changed), or for that matter, no children his age would have given a thought as to what life’s turns would have in store for him. At 16 today, Santosh recounts. He barely remembers if he had a family of his own; all he retains is that he grew up in an Ashram in Mumbai where he lived and attended school. After a trifling fight over a cricket match with friends in the Ashram, he ran away in fear of facing punishment. With the intent of fleeing the city he found his way to the railway station and boarded a train. Before he was finally rescued by the police from a railway station in Kerala, Santosh had many more hardships to face.

On the train from Mumbai, he met an elderly man who promised him a roof over his head and a better life; what he got instead was oppression and forced into labour. Fed up of the cruelty, he again ran away from the house; this was when he was found by the Kerala Police at the railway station and was then sent to a government run Children’s Home. Santosh first came to use the HiWEL Learning Station at this home in Kerala. He made the Learning Station his mode of continuing education as he was not attending school. He recalls how he learnt computer basics and enjoyed playing the educational games as well as using the paint application. In 2009, he was transferred to a home in Delhi and as he expressed, did not like the shift initially. Gradually, his liking for the HiWEL Learning Station and the friends he made at the Learning Station helped him settle in.

Today, he attends a school and has taken up vocational classes too. He adds, “I prefer learning at the Learning Station than a classroom setting as it more interesting and easier to comprehend lessons at the Learning Station. As compared to the Learning Station in Kerala, I am more comfortable using the one at the Delhi home as the content here is available in Hindi, also, even though my English is poor but the minimal amount that I have learnt is because of my exposure to the Learning Station. I will not run away from here, I feel secure and have found a family among the other children who stay there, especially the friends I made through I interaction at the Learning Station.” Santosh has enrolled himself for welding classes and is looking for ways to continue expanding his skills.

Rajiv started picking rags at a very young age after he dropped out of school. The meager income of his parents, who are also rag dealers, forced him to leave school and earn to add to the family income. At 14, he was already pulling a rickshaw and supporting the family economically. He was exposed to the Learning Station in 2008 and initially started with closely observing other users. Slowly he started trying his hand at the Learning Station however the other users did not liked his interference and chased him away. With the facilitator’s intervention, he was accepted by other users and Rajiv learnt how to use the Learning Station.

Rajiv was a quick learner and very quickly, he became acquainted with the basic educational contents installed at the Learning Station. Awe struck with his enthusiasm and dedication, the facilitator at the Learning Station mainstreamed him into formal schooling in 2009. He studies in the 7th class in a nearby government school and this is not the only task he does in a day. Even today, he adds to the family income. He pulls rickshaw in the morning hours and attends school in the 2nd shift. He usually comes to the Learning Station during school hours and confidently assists others on various contents.

Salim’s (name changed) story is that of trivial sibling fight leading to an unfavourable situation. At the age of five, Salim was constantly urged by his sister to help him in household chores while he wanted to study and attend school. They had fights very often and one day, when he grew tired and frustrated, he left his home. After roaming the streets near his village, Salim found his way to the railway station and boarded the first train he came across. A man on the train offered to help him and on reaching Chennai, he was handed over to a government run children’s home. Shortly after, he was transferred to a Government Home in South Delhi where he resided for 9 years and started with his schooling. Regular tiffs at the home with fellow residents forced him to run away once again until he was found by the police at the railway station. This time, he was sent to another home in North Delhi where, for the first time, got access to the HiWEL Learning Station. He made some friends at this home and the boys helped him familiarize with the Learning Station and he in turn taught them applications he had learnt during his computer classes at the previous school.

He visits the Learning Station 3-4 times a week. Though, he had been exposed to computers before, he is grateful to have access to the Learning Station as it gives him a chance to not only practice attributes he had learnt earlier but also learn new applications as well as practice the educational content. He points out that he enjoys working on the Maths content the most. His favourite subjects are Hindi and Maths and when he isn’t studying, like any other boy his age he enjoys spending time with his friends and playing games.

Salim says, “.... I ran away from my family just because my sister wasn’t letting me study. I enjoy studying and want to do well in life. I have always wanted to be a doctor and Insha’Allah I will become one someday and help people cure their illness.” He believes his knowledge of computers will empower him and help him in his efforts of being a doctor. The 15 year old admits he missed his home, mostly because of his father and grandmother and would like to go back to meet them once he has achieved success in life.

Youngest user, Ashiya- Ashiya, 5 years of age, can’t see the screen of the Learning Station given her height. However, this does not disappoint the little girl or make her turn away. Her mother, the HiWEL co-coordinator at Madangir, places a chair in front of the Learning Station and Ashiya climbs on with an excited gleam in her eyes. With the help of her mother and her aunts, Rubina and Zainab, who have rigorously used the Learning Station over a decade, Ashiya, a second generation user, is learning how to operate the Learning Station.

She says in an excited voice, “I love playing the egg game. It helps me revise the numbers I learn at school. I have learnt counting till 100. I have also uploaded my picture!” Her mother, Reshma, is thrilled with her daughter’s interest in the Learning Station; “I have seen my sisters use it and seen the way it helps shape a person. I will always encourage my daughter to use the Learning Station and make the most of this amazing opportunity.” Ashiya regularly drags her mother to the LS and spends 20-25 minutes using the computer, which she describes as more interesting than playing with a doll.

Suresh (name changed) lost his father, a rickshaw puller, at the tender age of two. Pressurized by her family, the responsibility of a mentally challenged daughter and lack of economical support, his mother gave him up at a Nirmal Chhaya Home in Delhi with the hope of her son receiving better care than what she would be able to provide him. He says, “I had never even seen a computer closely before I started using the Learning Station. It is a beautiful opportunity for children like us who do not have access to such things. We hear from other children in our class about computers and internet but very rarely do children like us get a chance to experience it first-hand.” Suresh describes how he enjoys listening to ‘Meena ki kahani’ stories and likes games such as matching objects. In the recent past, he has familiarized himself with the ‘paint’ application which he proudly states he has learnt completely on his own despite finding it difficult initially.

In the beginning, Suresh felt the need for a teacher to help them with the Learning Station but with time he has realized that learning something through his own efforts has given him confidence and now he proudly explores all the applications. Suresh is interested in using the internet and is fascinated by emails after his friends at school told him about it. Unlike many other children, he is grateful to the Home for providing him with the basic amenities he requires, ability to attend school and access to the LS which he believes will help him in building a strong future.

He says, “I dream of becoming a cricketer and make my country proud.” Yet the young boy is realistic and says he is also pursuing courses in mobile repairing and electrical work as back up. His ultimate dream remains to be financially independent so that he can set up a house for his mother and restore the home he lost.

For an 8 year old girl from a conservative family in one of the resettlement colonies, life ahead would have been bound by shackles of conservative attitude and monetary hardships. However, determined and eager to learn, Rubina jumped at the opportunity of using the Learning Station when it was first installed in the Madangir community in 2000. At 18 today, Rubina recalls the excitement of the children in the neighbourhood when Sheila Dikshit came to inaugurate the Learning Station. “Since that day”, she proudly states, “I have been going to the HiWEL Learning Station regularly.”

Though running a family of 6 children was difficult for Rubina’s parents who own a small shop in Madangir, they were always encouraging of their children’s education. Rubina’s mother notes that the exposure to the Learning Station came precisely at a time when Rubina needed it to cope with the pressures of her school studies as the family was not able to provide much help. Little Rubina would come back from school and head straight to the Learning Station to spend her afternoon and evenings learning the computer applications and going through the content. In the early years, Rubina remembers, how she was one of the few girls who used to visit the Learning Station regularly, which became an issue of concern for her conservative family as she reached an adolescent age. But determined to use the Learning Station, Rubina challenged social constraints and continued to visit the Learning Station, a decision she has never regretted. With time, her parents also witnessed the Learning Station’s role in Rubina’s holistic development.

As a child, on being asked what she aspired to become, the shy girl would look around with a blank face. After exposure to the Learning Station, the same question found an answer; today, the class XIIth graduate is looking forward to attaining a Bachelors Degree and pursuing fashion designing. She realizes that she has limitless opportunities to explore outside the small bylanes of her colony and she attributes the confidence to pursue her dreams to her education and to the HiWEL Learning Station. Rubina’s mother points out, “The Learning Station has been a part of the community for so many years now and yet children still visit it. The programs on the Learning Station are continuously changed and upgraded. This helps in maintaining the interest of the children and discourages them from getting bored.”

Zainab would stare at the Learning Station from a distance when it was first installed in Madangir in 2000. Even though she felt the same excitement and curiosity regarding the computer as the rest of the children of the neighbourhood, the shy 8 year old girl was wary and apprehensive of using the Learning Station. Seeing her cousin, Rubina using it however, motivated Zainab and soon she started visiting the learning station regularly. Now at 18, the young girl attributes her confident nature to the time spent at the Learning Station. She says, “My family is not well off. I never thought I would get to use a computer like this. I was in fact scared of using the computer at first. But once I started exploring the Learning Station, there was no turning back.”

As a slow learner, she describes how initially she faced numerous problems while using the Learning Station. Frustrated, many a times she would wish for the guidance of a teacher. But determined to learn, Zainab took it up as a challenge and with the help of her cousin, Rubina, learnt the various applications on the computer. She describes that since a young age she was weak in Mathematics and over a period of time developed a fear towards the subject. However, once she discovered the modules available on Maths on the Learning Station, she started practicing rigorously and no longer dreads the subject. She also recalls incidents when her classmates would boast about getting a new computer at home and she would proudly point out how she already uses one.

Considering the weak economic condition of the family, the school graduate who aims to be a lawyer shares her apprehensiveness on how her law education could be supported. However, she smiles and says, “I have had a good education thanks to my schooling and all that I learnt at the HiWEL Learning Station. Moreover, I’m equipped with the knowledge of computers, which I feel is so important in today’s world and holds so much value. I have come this far, I am sure I will go ahead.” Between juggling the pressures of her academics and responsibility of household chores, she doesn’t get ample time at the Learning Station now. However she makes it a point to visit as and when she can for whatever period time because as she states, “Learning at the Learning Station has become a habit and I don’t want to change that.”

On a normal day to school, 11 year old Ravi (name changed) lost his way after running away from the village with his friends when he got into a fight and hit someone profusely. He was found by the police and deported to a Delhi Home. After investigation, within days the family was identified and called to take the boy back. However, when his father arrived to pick him up Ravi refused to go back home and chose to stay back. A slow learner, at 17 Ravi is studying class VII curriculum. He realizes that he has a difficult time with his academics but is determined to work hard and finish his education. He earnestly says that he likes to study, especially Hindi and reads Hindi books and magazines whenever he gets his hands on them.

In contrast to classroom learning, Ravi points out that he had no difficulty in using the Learning Station without a teacher. He says, “I didn’t face any problems learning my way around the Learning Station even though I had never seen a computer in my life. In fact, it was very interesting and I took it up as a challenge.” He enjoys listening to “Meena ki kahani” and playing games based on educational content on the Learning Station. Intrigued by the various programs on a computer, Ravi wants to learn more especially using the internet. He feels that this exposure to computer usage will be of immense help to him in the future. An ardent user of the Learning Station, Ravi also helps other children work at the computer, sharing his knowledge as much as possible. And when he is not at the Learning Station, which ironically happens to be his favourite pastime, Ravi likes to spend his time fixing electrical appliances around the Home or reading books. He adds with a smile, “However if I find the Learning Station free, I run towards it!”

Dipesh comes from a migrant family of 5 who came to Delhi in search of livelihood options. Due to the financial crisis in his family, he could not continue his studies and dropped out at his 5th class despite his eagerness and urge to attend a school. He earns his living by selling golgappas (snacks) on a push cart (thela) from dawn to dusk.

Dipesh came to know of the HiWEL Learning Station as he moved around selling eatables on his push cart. The educational games attracted him instantly and he became a regular at the Learning Station. He slowly learnt how to use the mouse, opened applications using the interface and played educational games. He then moved on to learn typing and reading. His interest in education and studies also made him bring his younger brother to the Learning Station and later on, introduced his friends to it too. He readily helps everyone and anyone at the Learning Station when they face a problem and have become an expert whom his counterparts look up to. With his keenness and thirst for exploring new things, he has acquired new arenas of learning and is everyday enhancing his basic computer and cognitive skills. Dipesh Sharma now knows how to read and write in Hindi and is aspiring to be mainstreamed into formal schooling. He promptly adds, “I am learning here every day so that I am not behind my other counterparts who attend school. Even if I am not in school, I will be as good in studies as they are with the help of my Learning Station here.”

Youngest of 4 siblings, Ali (name changed) says most of his childhood memories are of struggling to do housework. The young boy would crave to go to school like the rest of the children in his neighbourhood but while they sat in classrooms reciting their tables, Ali was busy running errands. What added to his frustration, Ali says is the beating he would receive on making the tiniest of mistakes. Agitated and angry, 9 year old Ali ran away from home. He caught a train from the nearest station and found his way to Delhi. On reaching the capital, Ali was caught by a man who forcefully took him to an ashram where he spent the next two years. Finally he was rescued from there by the police who then transferred him to a government Home.

Currently in class VI, 14 year old Ali is attending a government school. Speaking of his experience at the Learning Station, Ali says that it was the first time he used a computer and he was fascinated by how it works and what all can be done on it. He remembers that initially he saw other children using it and spending a lot of time at the Learning Station which intrigued and attracted him. Finally he gave into his temptation, and started spending time at the Learning Station. He describes at length the stories he has heard and the games he has played while using the Learning Station. He says in a matter of fact tone, “There is nobody to teach you how to use it; you have to learn on your own. It’s a little hard at first but I managed to learn.” Now, he proudly states, he helps the younger children get accustom to the ways of handling the computer and using the applications.

He says, “Had I still been at home I would have been doing chores and housework. I would not have even got a glimpse of a computer. Thanks to the Learning Station, I am learning something which is of such great importance in today’s world.” He dreams to become a successful man who earns an honest living.

Shahin had never attended school nor had any exposure to education when she first interacted with the HiWEL Learning Station. Her daily wage earner parents who migrated to Delhi in search of a livelihood had no supporting documents to get her enrolled in a school.

At her initial exposure to the Learning Station, Shahin, all of 7 years, used to closely observe other users. Slowly, she started trying her hand at the Learning Station. Shahin quickly picked up basic English, Hindi, & Math and started using the Learning Station religiously. Seeing her enthusiasm her parents along with HiWEL facilitator made another attempt at getting her into the other side of the school wall. During the admission season of 2010-11 Shahin got enrolled in the MCD School and her parent’s dream of providing Shahin with the opportunity to attend formal schooling was realized.

She now comes to the Learning Station at every chance she gets after having enough exposure to different edutainment softwares. Shahin now comfortably writes her name in Hindi & English.