Some Hindu and Muslim girls living on the streets in an eastern Indian city are getting quality education from some Catholic nuns.

“If given an opportunity to study, street girls would outshine others in all spheres,” says Holy Cross Sister Lissy Thomas, who directs Navjeevan (new life), a home for street girls in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal state.

Eight Hindu and 22 Muslim girls aged five to 14 now live in the provincial headquarters of the Sisters of Holy Cross of Chavnod in Kolkata.

The home began five years ago for street girls. It admits only five girls each year to provide them “the atmosphere of a home” that they miss on the streets, Sister Thomas told UCA News on April 11.

The girls can study as long and as much as they want, after which they would be initiated to a job that would help them start their own home.

The girls attend classes in the afternoon after the nuns coach them in the morning, the director explained. Five nuns and three lay people manage the home.

Sister Prasanna, who assists Sister Thomas, said the girls’ parents contribute 50 rupees (about US$1.10) every month. The nuns put in an equal amount into a bank account they open in the name of the girl as soon as she joins the home.

The money would be used for the girl’s higher studies, Sister Prasanna said, and added that the nuns insist that parents give their share each month.

A challenge handling street children

Sister Thomas said the girls come with their street manners and sometimes “it is difficult to handle them.”

Girls start to beg or scavenge as soon they reach eight years of age. Most fathers are either drug addicts or alcoholics.

“It is hard to make the parents understand the importance of education, but when the girls reach third or fourth grade, they cooperate with the nuns,” Sister Thomas added.

The nuns now get lots of requests from parents to admit their girls to Navjeevan. “We do not want to make it a hostel but … a home to give personal attention to each girl,” she said.

Ohima Khatoon, 11, who was top student in her fourth-grade class, thanks the nuns for her success. The girl, who begged on the streets before joining the nuns five years ago, now wants to become a teacher.

Kamli Goswami’s daughter, Priya, joined the home a year ago. She told UCA News her eldest daughter is receiving “the best education.”

Source: Nuns educate Muslim, Hindu street girls (UCAN)

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