She turned her dispensary into a coaching class for slum kids ……Meena Iyer | TNN
When Dr Surbhi Suchak learnt of the apathy that the downtrodden students face in municipal schools in Mumbai, she decided it was time for a change. Suchak gave up a thriving practice and converted her huge dispensary into a coaching class for slum children.
Suchak’s objective was simple. According to her, It’s time to give something back to the society. This inspired her to start Sunlight Children, the institution that she runs in Juhu came from this thought. At the institution, coaching classes are held for students who are between 5 and 18 years old. The classes, which benefit over 150 boys and girls, are in all subjects. Highly qualified teachers freelance for this school without charging a single penny.“I give conveyance allowance to some of the teachers,’’ says Suchak.
Initially, she used to conduct classes for free. But then children and their parents used to not take the classes seriously. “Often we’d have economists and postgraduates in maths and science waiting to teach but not a single child would turn up,’’ she says. So she introduced a nominal fee of Rs 50 for a month for primary school students and Rs 150 for the secondary.
After she started charging the token fee, parents made sure that their children attended the tutorials regularly. To enrol at Sunlight Children it is mandatory for a child to hail from a slum.
People like Pushpa Murthy, a government employee who recently took a voluntary retirement, and Swati Kharbanda, a freelance film production executive, are among those who teach for free here. There are also qualified housewives who come in occasionally to take a class or two in their spare time. Suchak is also looking for more committed volunteers because the school needs a lot of teachers.
The ISCKON temple that is situated close to Suchaks clinic sends food for the children. Besides this, Trupti Caterers regularly donate samosas and vada pav. Donations are also made in the form of clothes, footwear and other essentials, which Suchak passes on to the children. What is most exciting for the children is that during playtime, they get to play games and puzzles donated by wealthy students of Besant Montessori and Utpal Sanghvi. “Our coaching classes complete their lives,’’ she says. And many of the children have come up with excellent grades thanks to the personal coaching that they receive here.
(Dr Surbhi Suchak can be contacted at sunlightchildren@gmail.com)
ENLIGHTENING THEIR LIVES: Surbhi Suchak (in blue saree) along with the children whom she coaches at Sunlight Children