Our Story
Educators’ Trust India was set up in February 2008 by Goan-born Diego Baptista, after he helped an abandoned child at the side of the road – a child from one of the rural slums which have sprung up in Goa in order to house the economic migrants who travel here in search of jobs and money, only to discover that there is no pot of gold at the end of the Goan rainbow.
Diego soon realised that his calling was to help the needy and to make a difference to the lives of the less fortunate. He and his wife Aparna began visiting the rural slum areas of Aldona and Guirim, inland from the popular tourist resorts of Calangute and Baga. Most of those who live in these fields are migrant labourers and they live in temporary shelters made of coconut palms and plastic sheets.
Diego writes of his early visits to the slums:
“They had no running water and often had to walk long distances to fetch water to drink, wash and cook with. Electricity was unheard of. The people usually work on the construction of roads and at building sites. Everything they owned could fit into a small plastic bag and could be easily moved from one area to another. The living conditions among these communities are filthy, unhygienic and deplorable. In each of these areas, there are four or five couples each with seven or eight children. These children were left alone all day as both the parents went out to work early in the morning and returned only late in the evening.”
Diego and Aparna approached the parents and convinced them to let their children be given basic education and medical care. They helped them to understand how their children would benefit from education and improved health. With help and support from friends and family, Diego and Aparna set up a school in their own apartment, before then securing the building which became Leading Light school.
