In the bustling heart of Delhi, between crowded lanes and modest shanties, stands a story of courage, compassion, and change. Every weekend, while most of the city rests, a small temple in Anna Nagar transforms into a classroom filled with laughter, learning, and limitless dreams.
This is Pehchaan The Street School, a volunteer-driven movement that’s rewriting what education looks like for children in Delhi’s slums.
🌍 A Mission Born from Empathy
Back in 2015, a young graduate named Akash Tandon and his friends were volunteering for various social causes. One day, while passing by the towering WHO building, they noticed something that didn’t sit right: a massive slum settlement, barely 50 meters away, living without basic amenities.
“No roads, no electricity, just a single tap for hundreds of families,” recalls Akash. “And this was in the center of the capital within a few kilometers of the CM’s office, India Gate, and Rashtrapati Bhavan.”
When they saw children swimming in open drains unaware of the danger they knew something had to change.
That moment became Pehchaan’s purpose:
“If we can give a child knowledge, even once, that knowledge stays forever.”
🎒 A School Without Walls, But Full of Hope
What began as a weekend initiative with just five children quickly grew to over 250 within months. The temple became a safe haven a classroom, a playground, and sometimes even a counseling space.
Today, Pehchaan The Street School runs 10 centers across Delhi and Noida, supported by 800 volunteers, reaching over 1,600 children in underprivileged communities.
Every Saturday and Sunday, volunteer students from IITs, IIMs, and universities like Ashoka, Amity, and Delhi University gather to teach. Subjects range from Math and English to life skills, emotional wellness, and basic psychology.
💡 Teaching Beyond Textbooks
Pehchaan doesn’t follow a traditional syllabus. Instead, they focus on core concepts, the essential building blocks every child must master before moving ahead.
The student teacher ratio (1:4) ensures that every child receives personal attention. Each student has an ID card and structured attendance bringing a sense of dignity and belonging to learning.
Volunteers often start by teaching for chocolates or games, but soon realize they’re teaching for something far bigger than hope.
“In the beginning, they came for chocolates. Now they come for dreams,” smiles Diya, a volunteer from Delhi University.
❤️ Challenges That Build Strength
Running 10 centers for over 1,600 children is no small task. Every notebook, pencil, or water bottle adds up. Funding is always a challenge, but community support and crowdfunding keep the mission alive.
Corporate CSR support remains limited due to rigid criteria, but that hasn’t stopped Pehchaan from growing because impact, here, is measured not in reports, but in smiles.
“We may not have fancy presentations, but we have real results for kids who believe in their future,” says Akash.
🌈 A Future Built on Dreams
From five children under a tree to 1,600 across Delhi’s slums, Pehchaan is living proof that one act of compassion can create ripples of change.
For children like Deepak, Hrithik, and Pushkar, Pehchaan isn’t just a weekend school it’s a home for dreams.
Every weekend, at 2:30 pm, lines of eager students wait with notebooks in hand and hope in their eyes.
They sit, they learn, they grow.
And they carry with them one truth.
“Education is not a privilege. It’s right. And it begins with us.”
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