Each day from 4 p.m. onwards, N. Arunachalam stands outside the All India Movement (AIM) for Seva Free Student Home, waiting for his 22 wards to return from school.
“Three boys go to school in Tindivanam town, which is 10 km away. The buses are crowded and the boys have to cross the busy national highway to get a bus. Until all the boys return to the home, I do not have a minute’s peace,” said the caretaker of the home, who is referred to as ji by the boys.
For the children, the building, located on a corner plot of a newly-developed residential area, is a home away from home.
They are looked after by the caretaker, who watches over them and ensures that they perform their daily tasks, attend yoga classes, eat and study.
Though the home is run on a tight schedule, the boys have time for fun and games every day. “We have a volleyball court, a children’s park with swings, slides and space for cricket where we have regular matches,” says S. Mohanraj a passionate volleyball player, who was sent away from his family home.
All the boys in the home are from less privileged families and are here mostly because their families are unable to take care of them. There are children from broken families, children who are looked after only by grandparents, and children who need special care.
M. Manikandan, who has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour, chose to come back to this home.
“My mother wanted me to stay at home in Madurai till the tumour is treated but I did not want to miss my studies and let my grades slip so I came back here,” he said.
This is just one among the 99 homes founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. The 100th home, coming up in Lucknow, is to be inaugurated on February 1.
AIM for Seva’s managing trustee, Sheela Balaji said the first home was started near Anaikatti in 2000, when Swami Dayananda Saraswati suggested that homes be started to enable students in rural and tribal areas to have access to quality education.
“Each home has 40-60 students who study in classes VI to XII. Presently, there are around 4,000 students in all of which 20 per cent are girls. So far, a total of 14,000 students have passed out. All the homes are run through donor support. Everything from land to buildings to the children’s food is managed with donations,” Ms. Balaji explained.
