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New Delhi: Once a Class 7 dropout, a 20-year-old college student is sensitising a group of Delhi youth to create awareness among them about social issues and their rights.
Ashkeen Ahmad, a resident of the low-end Mandawali neighbourhood in east Delhi, left school at the age of 14 after failing his mathematics examination and started working as a mechanic in an automobile repair shop. However, he soon realised the importance of education after listening to his customers conversing.
His father is a daily wager in a printing press and his mother is a homemaker and Ashkeen is eldest among four siblings.
"I left my job and joined Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), where my younger sister Farah was studying," Ashkeen said.
He then passed his Class 10 and 12 examinations from the National Open School and is now studying for a bachelor's degree in social work from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
It was during his stint at ISST that he volunteered for community work and eight months ago formed a small group within it called "Maksad" (goal) to take his work forward.
The group has been operating from a small room within the premises of the Kalyanpuri police station that had been specially allotted to ISST for conducting its activities.
"Through 'Maksad' we started sensitising the youth of the Kalyanpuri area, which otherwise has gained notoriety for anti-social activities that take place there," Ashkeen said.
The group also conducts classes in English and computer operations for students aged 13-24 for a nominal fee.
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