Ajay Oli, a resident of Pithoragarh in Kumaon has been travelling across the country barefoot to educate peopl... Read More

NAINITAL: Twenty-eight-year-old Ajay Oli gave up wearing shoes three years ago when he pledged to dedicate his life to eradicate the menace of child begging .

Since then, the resident of Pithoragarh in Kumaon has been travelling across the country barefoot to educate people about the social evil and motivate them to not encourage child beggars .

Oli says that over the past three years, he has covered around 80,000 km and traversed most of north India , including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. “I want to make people aware that by giving alms to a child, one is pushing him or her further towards bondage. Instead, our efforts should be oriented towards rescuing these children and helping them reclaim their childhood,” Oli, who was in Haldwani last week as part of his mission, says.

It all started in September 2015 when he was working as a hotel management graduate with a private organization in Lucknow. He left his Rs 33,000 job and listened to his heart.

“I was walking towards my rented accommodation in Lucknow after work around midnight. On the way I saw a group of people, including women and children, with lots of coins in their bowls. Soon after a man came up to them and snatched all the money. In return, he gave them some currency notes instead and left. On inquiry, they told me that they beg since morning for that man and he gives them only 20% of the collected amount,” Oli recalls.

That incident triggered a transformation in him. He wanted to bring about a change and put an end to this system. Instead of going to office, he went from slum to slum the next day to talk to the dwellers and urge them to stop begging.

“The families in the slums told me that they were forced to beg. If their children didn’t beg, they would be deprived of a meal. I was shocked to know of the ground realities and I decided to work to eradicate the social evil from this country.”

In the next three years, he crisscrossed throught 35 cities delivering sessions and talks to encourage people to change their mindset and stop child begging.

Spanning not more than five minutes, his sessions include tips on how to approach police and other organizations to resolve the problem.

Asmita Pandey, a student of Delhi University and a resident of Haldwani who attended one of his sessions, said, “He is working towards the right direction as we should not encourage child begging. However, this is only a one dimensional approach as the problem lies much deeper. A lot more needs to be done to tackle the issue.”

The 28-year-old also has the support of his family. In his home district in Pithorgarh, he had started an NGO with his family after motivating them too. They organize sessions and take care of orphan children. The family has dedicated two of their houses for the purpose.

