Kid waiting for leftovers at school, gets admission

Every day, Moti Divya used to wait patiently outside a classroom of Devar Jham Singh High School in Gudimalkapur, with an aluminum container, waiting for children of her age to finish having their free lunch so that she could have the leftovers of the mid-day meal.

Little did she know that she would one day get admission in the same school with the help of a newspaper photographer. A vernacular Telugu daily published the photograph of the girl clicked by Avula Srinivas with the caption 'Akali Chupulu' (Hungry Look).

The photograph tells the reader how Divya waits for the school bell to ring so that she can have some food. The food is meagre -- some gruel, rice and a banana.

The girl's photograph soon became viral. While some appreciated the photographer, others clearly saw deprivation in the picture.

Venkat Reddy, the national convener of Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MV Foundation) that works for the rights of a girl child, also shared the photo on his Facebook page. He said that it was a shame that the girl could not exercise her right to food and education.

He then started looking out for the girl with the help of NGOs and volunteers that work in Mehdipatnam area. They spotted Divya’s parents, Yashoda and Laxman, who were both rag pickers. The volunteers also understood that Divya's parents had not enrolled her in any school although her elder sister was studying at a government residential school away from home. Reddy reached the slum where the girl lived and convinced her parents that their kid should be in school. Soon, she got admitted in the same school where she used to wait for food.

"Divya exercised her constitutional right to be in the school. Today our team and other community members admitted her in the same school where she was waiting for lunch bell to eat her food...congratulations team, Congratulations Divya. Right to education is not just for the rich ….we also will go to school...we will win”-- Reddy posted on his Facebook page.
The post also carried pictures of the transformed Divya, in a school uniform, standing with her parents at the school.