🌈1. What childhood experiences made Shaheen Mistri think about the lives of poor and needy children?
Answer:
When Shaheen was twelve, she visited an orphanage in Jakarta. The children there made a deep impression on her, and she started visiting the orphanage every weekend. During her summer vacations in India, she also worked at the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Mumbai. She saw poor children begging on the streets and poor families struggling for food. These experiences made her understand the great difference between the lives of the rich and the poor.
🌈2. What made Shaheen decide to stay in India and work for poor children? How did she get admission to St. Xavier’s College?
Answer:
In 1989, Shaheen saw three children begging at a traffic signal in Mumbai. At that moment, she felt that her life would have more meaning if she stayed in India and worked for children. Her parents agreed on the condition that she should join a good college. Though admissions at St. Xavier’s College had already closed, Shaheen met the Principal, Father D’Cruz, and explained her wish to work for the children of India. Impressed by her determination, he gave her admission.
🌈3. How did Shaheen meet Sandhya? How did her first class of children begin in Sandhya’s house?
Answer:
While walking through a poor area in Mumbai, Shaheen met Sandhya, an eighteen-year-old girl. Though they could not speak each other’s language, they soon became friends. Shaheen began visiting Sandhya’s small house every day after college. Some children from the neighbourhood started coming there and asked Shaheen to teach them English, Mathematics and songs. More children joined them, and this became Shaheen’s first class. The children lovingly called her “Didi.”
🌈4. What difficulties did Shaheen face while searching for a classroom? How did she finally get a place for the first Akanksha centre?
Answer:
Shaheen wanted a proper place where the children could study peacefully. She approached twenty schools and asked them to provide a classroom for three hours in the evening. All of them refused, and some gave unfair reasons for not allowing poor children into their schools. Shaheen was almost ready to give up when the Principal of Holy Name High School in Colaba agreed to give her a room. It became the first Akanksha centre.
🌈5. How did Akanksha begin and grow? What did it do to improve the lives of poor children?
Answer:
Akanksha formally started in 1991 with one class of 15 children. Shaheen brought volunteers from St. Xavier’s College to teach them. The children were taught basic English and Mathematics along with values, self-respect and confidence. Over the years, Akanksha grew to 58 centres and six schools with more than 3,500 children. It gave poor children a safe place to learn and helped them build confidence and hope for a better future.
[📘 Note Presentation ❓ Paragraph Q&A 📝 Essays ⚡ Capsule Notes Discourse Questions and Answers]