Salaam Baalak Trust Q3 Update

For an introduction to the work of the Salaam Balak Trust, please click here: Salaam Balak Trust

Why I Volunteer with Salaam Baalak

For my introduction to Salaam Baalak Trust I have two people to thank. My namesake John Thompson, who set up the City Walk and whose publicity was so good that I read about it in an English newspaper back in 2006, a few weeks before travelling through Delhi. And on the walk itself, Shekhar, who on my first morning with SBT was as cool as I was flustered.

It was my first day in Delhi. I arrived late and, embarrassingly, was stuck with a driver from the hotel who would not let me do something as alarming as follow an ex-street kid around the railway station. As I now know, of course, I was in safe hands - and after a well-negotiated compromise, the driver came too. The combination of hearing about the harsh realities of street life and Shekhar's fluent enthusiasm and obvious talent inspired me to see more of the organisation. And when I started as a volunteer, this same mixture of concern about the plight of so many kids and the hope of seeing lives transformed was repeated time and time again.

It's not easy for an outsider to grasp what is going on in India, let alone in the streets around Paharganj. After a while I began to realise that just when you think you've worked out why something happened, you hear the same story from a different angle which completely changes that understanding. So I know that after a couple of years, on and off, volunteering with SBT, I still don't appreciate all the complexities facing both the children and the staff and Trustees.

But some things do become clear. At the same time that each child is, of course, another individual human with their own history and personality, collectively there is something very special about the children at SBT. In the West we often hear horror stories about apparently 'unteachable' children at home who have no respect for anything or anyone. The problems are sometimes traced back to absent or failed parents, relative poverty or gang culture. Yet at SBT, where children have experienced the same or much worse, volunteers find ourselves met with respect (well, sometimes anyway, if we deserve it..), with smiles and kindness. And with a willingness to learn. Not to mention sharing of food and endless offers of chai..

If there is a single comment that sums up for me the best reaction of volunteers after being with SBT, it would have to be “I've learnt so much”. Most of us thought we would be teaching, not learning. But it's impossible to spend time with the children without having many of your perceptions (or prejudices) challenged.

SBT sets itself difficult tasks and the daily experiences of the staff are not ordinary ones - or at least, they are extraordinary when I compare them to office life in London. Catching glimpses of fragile brilliance, equipping children for an unfair world, not letting their dreams be trampled on - it's hard for all this not to leave a lasting impression.

I am happy to have become involved with SBT; thankful to have had the opportunity to do things which give me a sense of fulfillment, and proud to count some of the current and former children as true friends.

In the words of Shekhar himself, street children can rock the world. Long may SBT give them the chance..

Here as well is a copy of the SBT brochure which they have spent the last few months working on. Just click below:

SBTBrochure.pdf(1439 KB)

Nick Thompson

November 2009