Dear friends,
“I would like to thank
everyone gathered here today to help us in this noble cause and on behalf of
all the children who are part of the trust’s family, especially Justice N K
Sodhi Ji, Raj Babbar Ji, Jimmy, Yogeshwar , Shilpa, all my elders present here , esteemed
guests, my family
and friends for taking out time and coming here for supporting us and
the children.
I have spent 11
years in prison and in these years of incarceration I saw the harsh realities
and challenges that life throws at you, I saw the people in jail suffer
physically and mentally and felt very sorry for them and for myself. Bound in a drift less abyss, stagnant I
thought to myself that nothing in life could be worse than this, facing another
day just like all the others as it comes and just getting by. But all this
changed, the day I realized that the people in jail are not the real sufferers,
the real sufferers are the children of inmates in jail. What these children go
through is many a time worse than what inmates in jail have to go through.
And the reason
for it is that, as soon as the bread winner of a family goes to jail, the
children’s lives suddenly turn upside down, their eyes start searching for
their fathers but soon stop and instead start searching for the next meal as
they don’t know where it is going to come from. Their families and friends they
so cherished till a day a go, desert them and do not want anything to do with
them, the children in the colony refuse to play with them, they are shunned and
discarded by all.
In the life of
these children, as time passes the name calling and stares of peers stop
affecting them, as extreme poverty takes over, Most of these children drop out
of school and their lives begin to drift in the wrong direction; Stigma along
with poverty makes life very difficult. These are the children we have gathered
here to help today.
Over the years I
have become something of a voracious reader in prison and have come across
thousands of articles and books which talk about the humane treatment of
prisoners, their safety, their clothing, eating, hygiene, medical treatment
even dignity. We find many charters and declarations of human rights, National
& International laws and manuals dedicated to describing the rights of
prisoners. But surprisingly I am yet to come across any law, charter, or manual
which prescribes or outlines the rights of these children. I found nothing that
ensures the basic tenants in life for these children not even like food shelter
or education.
One agrees that
the People in jail or the prisoners, may have made a mistake in
their lives or fallen for the wrong
calling in life but what is the fault of these innocent children, they have
done nothing wrong , they haven’t harmed any one. As their parents and in some
cases both their parents languish in jail they fail to understand their
mistake. The irony of the situation is that they will never know their mistake
as they have committed none.
These children
are the real destitutes of our society and without education these children are
destined to a life of doom and will grow up to be bitter not just toward
society but with themselves too, which is not good for children or for our
future generation. It is our collective responsibility to fend for these
children and give them a shot at life; I have pledged to do whatever is in my
power to help as many of these children as possible and to make them stand on
their feet with their heads held high.
As of date we are
helping more than 450 such children but this is just the tip of the iceberg,
because in Delhi itself at least two to three thousand more children need such
help and this problem is not confined to Delhi alone, it is a pan India problem
and we need to take care of all these children where ever they may be, I am
pledged to do my best, but I know that I alone cannot do it ,I need the help of
all the well-meaning people present here today and many more outside ,I
therefore entreat you to please join us in this noble and much needed cause, in
whatever way you can, either by donating your time for these children, by
buying a paintings, donating study material or uniforms or by adopting one of
these beautiful souls, it is up to you, but please do help. I seek your help on
behalf of all these children and their parents who are behind bars. So please
find place for these children in your lives and hearts, if a difference has to
be made in their lives then our effort has to be a sustained, continuous &
relentless.
In the words of the children
“Giving is a beautiful thing, so please give
& we shall give you our love our blessing and our hearts”.
In the end I
again extend my gratitude to all who have come to extend their support to me
& these beautiful children.
Thank you very
much,
Sid
