Rekindling hope on the ramp

Attempt to wean away children from bad influence

The SISP provides free education to economically backward children

It’s tempting to draw a parallel between life during the monsoon months in Vizhinjam – a coastal village about 20 km from Thiruvananthapuram – and the rough sea in the backdrop. Meagre catch, falling income, poor living conditions and alcoholism among men in the community define life in some of these pockets.

For the many young and impressionable children in the village, a weekend means locked-up time at home where men in the family get drunk and sometimes, abusive. There are also corrupting influences outside of their homes; for the school-going children in the village, education also becomes a ticket out of a daily, often disturbing reality.

The school, for the ones who could afford it, is also opportunity and hope. At the Sebastian India Social Project (SISP) Centre that provides free second chance education for the poorest children in the Vizhinjam-Kovalam region, hope also comes spread out in concrete, on a mini skating ramp.

 The SISP, a non-profit organisation that works in coastal regions around the capital city, was founded by two Belgians – Paul van Gelder and Werner Fynaerts – in 1996. The organisation picks up children from socially and economically backward families, most of them school dropouts, and provide them free education.

In May last year, the SISP formed the Kovalam Skate Club that offers skateboarding lessons to students of the SISP centre. A mini-skating ramp was constructed on the second floor of the school. A year later, the club has started to attract children from outside of the school and is finding endorsement from struggling families that are not used to the idea of sport as recreation.

The SISP has been exploring the potential of skateboarding as an additional feature that could also get more dropouts to join the school. So far, the “no school, no skating” model seems to have worked. The organisation recently created a skate park in the school courtyard that has also seen a marked improvement in participation of girl students. The trainees have started appearing at skateboarding competitions but SISP representatives reiterate that the idea goes way beyond efforts to build a professional team.

Van Gelder says the skateboarding sessions came in as a follow-up on the Kovalam Surf Club that the SISP founded in 2005. The club was conceived as an initiative to keep students at the SISP centre off the streets during non-school hours.

The organisation went ahead with the “no school, no surfing” model to get more children enrolled at the school. The idea of recreation during the weekend was, initially, lost on parents who even had reservations in sending their children to school instead of preparing them for the drill of employment.

“Initially, there was some resistance from parents but they soon realised that children were having a good time and ultimately, it was good for them. This was always welcome because during off-school hours, children were hanging around the neighbourhood without doing much,” says van Gelder.   

The SISP pays a modest allowance as a “replacement income”, to the poorest of parents who send their children to school. The organisation had its task cut out in getting girls to join the skateboarding sessions. For starters, parents had issues with their daughters training along with boys; further, the girls showed reluctance in practising in the enclosed, indoor ramp. With the new courtyard skate park, the SISP seems to have addressed the issue.

The weekend sessions at the SISP centre have close to 25 children from the school training at the two skating areas. Students also bring their friends to the sessions, making it a group of around 40 children. The SISP bears the cost of skating gear and transportation for children to the centre and back.

Vineeth who works at the SISP doubles as a trainer at the skating sessions. He says he’s also learning on the job. For the new skate park and accessories, the SISP launched a campaign on Indiegogo, an online crowd-funding platform, seeking a contribution of 950 USD. The organisation ended up collecting more.

A team that comprised volunteers from India, Germany, the UK, France and Maldives worked on the project. The organisation has expenses for one year covered through crowd-funding. “Typically, on a Saturday, we spend about Rs 2,000 that include expenses on transportation and food for children. Funds from the surf club – that generates some income through training sessions – is also transferred to keep things going here,” says Vineeth.

Children from above poverty line families make a nominal contribution as fee for the skateboarding lessons. The centre is likely to host more children during the monsoon period that typically runs up till late September.

“The surf club was serving the purpose – of diverting children to something constructive during off-school hours – but children can’t surf in the rains. That’s where the idea of a skating club took shape,” says van Gelder.

The SISP is looking at tapping into possibilities beyond the skating ramp: building a sense of team, bonding and a culture of helping each other. Children recently travelled to Bengaluru for a skateboarding competition; Vineeth says they could do with the exposure but the bigger takeaway was the happiness of their parents. “These children used to buy liquor and snacks for adults and take tips in return. For them, these are new joys of life,” he says.