Knowledge Is Power
It may not be easily apparent, but knowledge is power. And for slum children of India, it is not only power, but an investment in their future too. The knowledge that they can have today will spell a great difference in their future, and their present choices.
And really, this is what education is all about --- a recognition of the choices that can or should not be made. For example, there is a social service in India called the ChildLine 1098. The service is simply to dial 1098 for any child emergency, and ChildLine will send a volunteer in aid of the child in need, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
And many children have benefited from ChildLine. But there will still be a child somewhere in India who will call for help, and no one will come, simply because there is no knowledge of 1098.
Knowledge is power. It is not even to provide as comprehensive a knowledge as possible. Just basic knowledge and it will do. Slum education may not be quality education, but just to provide one more choice to the zero options, especially in the mind of a child, should be more than enough to get the child through.
The knowledge this kind of education will provide may not change the world, or even the better future of a nation. But just one more choice would be a world of difference to a child, and maybe even a future just a little bit longer than if the child had no choice to begin with.
