US-trained IT engineer trains poor kids

A United States-trained software engineer is educating poor children at a Dalit school in Uttar Pradesh by giving computer lessons to them.

Karan Shishir, a US university graduate, teaches computer fundamentals to children at a Dalit village, Devra, 65 kilometers from Lucknow.

He wants to give every kid the same opportunity he got when he was young.

"I met this poor girl in Mumbai, who started interacting with me in English. While interacting with her, I asked her where she stayed and what she did, so she told me that she stayed under the bridge and some Catholic nuns used to teach her. Then suddenly I realised that the only difference between us is opportunity, which I received from my parents and they didn't. I have come here with the same motive. I want to give these children the same opportunity to learn what I have learnt," said Karan Shishir.

S B Mishra, the founder of this Dalit school wants every child of the village to be a literate. But realising that computer education is important, he joined hands with Shishir.

"Today it is not enough for a person to be simply literate. We have entered a competitive world, and therefore, our sole motive is to make these poor children capable and stable enough to survive in this competitive environment. We are providing computer education and other vocational training to them so that they can compete with children from the cities," said Mishra.

A mini computer is already in operation within the school premises.