We arrived at the school campus off Sarjapur road at about 11:30. The motto of the school is in bright yellow, and says “Our Tomorrow Is Today”. I felt this was quite apt, for we are aiming to inculcate the values of road safety in our young students today, with the hope for a better tomorrow when they grow up and lead by example.
Soon after lunch, the meeting area was buzzing with the chatter of the young students. Shubhi kicked off the presentation and quickly engaged the crowd.
The statistics always hit hard. When Shubhi drove home the point “More people die in road accidents in India, than of AIDS; it is equivalent to a jet-liner crashing every day!!” The impact on the students and teachers was palpable.
They sat up and took notice of the pie chart that says more than 90% accidents can be avoided by defensive driving ( no overspeeding, no overloading, no driving under influence ).
When Shubhi discussed the Tips for Pedestrians, Riders and Children, the young students quickly grasped the reasons behind, and their importance.
One boy chimed in about the motorcycles that ride on footpaths. Shubhi exhorted the students to stand up to wrong behavior and calmly, politely ask the person to get back on the road. She shared her own example: when she urged a young scooter rider to take his helmet out of his bag and wear it. “Your bag does not need protection, your head does! Your mother will be waiting for you at home”.
I saw Shubhi taking a pause and a deep breath when it came to the slide “Why do we do this?”. It is not easy to talk about Aru, to talk of her accident, and how we wish no family loses a loved one to road accidents. I know what she was going through at the moment, but she held her poise in front of the large crowd. I know the word courage comes from “corage” or “cor” which means “heart, innermost feelings”. Shubhi’s effort exemplified this with the courage and resolve derived from our wonderful daughter’s wonderful memory.
This time, we did something different. We introduced a Pledge. The children whole-heartedly joined Shubhi in making the Pledge. I had goosebumps when the voice of 180 children in the room rose in unison to say “I shall follow the rules of the road…”. Shubhi asked the students to sign our Foundation Book if they believe in the Pledge, and if they will carry it forward. It was heartening to see them all come forward to sign their names! We think the Pledge is a great call to action, and not just passive listening.
We also shared a brief animated video created by Toyota Safety Education Program. This is targeted to young school children, and it certainly helped to reinforce the message.
After the talk, students and teachers came forward to talk to us. It was clear that the brief talk had some impact on them. They shared some concerns, they shared their desire to take the message forward, some want to connect us with other schools. We think even if a handful of the audience take the message to heart, it will make a difference!
A big thanks to Riad Mahmood and Priya ma’am, and Sandhya Lovekar who helped organize today’s session.
Students and Teachers of Head Start, we welcome your feedback.
-Sanjay
Shubhi and Sanjay – Truly commend your work and commitment inspite of your personal turmoil. Your blog posts are incredibly inspiring and even though I did not know Aru I feel connected through her legacy that you both are carrying forward. Wishing you both lots of strength. Shekar and I would sincerely like to help in any way we can. If you think we can, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Many Thanks Mythili and Shekar. Your encouragement is more than sufficient. We will definately get back to you when we need to reach out. We try to go out and plan something constructive on days that are more difficult than most rather than sit at home and feel guilty and miserable. Upcoming events and festivals make us miss her more and more.
Thank you guys! Take care.