The Second Chance School

The school aims at imparting literacy, social values, and vocational skills to deprived youth in Delhi. Along with vocational courses, Ritinjali teaches key skills in communication, learning, numeracy, participation and information technology to its main target groups. The Second Chance School helps to instill self- esteem and confidence in the youth. It provides age appropriate education and vocational skills to enable the youth to become constructive members of the society. The young adults at the Shelter Home are provided with an environment where they can deal with the trauma of their past life and grow in a nurturing environment.  It is aimed at creating thoughtful and responsible citizens that are also financially independent.

Eight new boys joined the Second Chance School this year. Jatin Kumar from Dehradun was enrolled in class 12 through NIOS and is simultaneously undergoing a course in Computer Application. He also attends the Educational Programme (EP) at Pallavanjali.  
Sasvind from Delhi was enrolled for the class 8 examinations through OBE and has joined the Educational Programme at Pallavanjali .


Sahid, Alam, Sakeer and Javed came in from the Night School. While Sahid and Javed attend the Educational Programme at Pallavanjali, which will ultimately lead to vocational internships with corporate firms, Alam and Sakeer are interning as motor mechanics. Anil, who is from Behard in Orissa, will appear for the Class 12 NIOS exam. He is simultaneously attending a Computer Course and the Educational Programme at Pallavanjali. Sumit, who is from Dehradun, stayed at SCS for a brief period but had to leave due to personal reasons. He is back at SCS now and goes along with Javed and Sahid for the Educational Programmes at Pallavanjali.

Some fun moments

The SCS boys have clearly defined goals and each one of them is earnestly making the most of the opportunities that have come their way:-
Manoj and Subodh successfully passed the Class XII exams through the NIOS.
Pradeep is working at a cyber café in Mahipalpur.
In yet another of our success stories, Naseer the youngest of our boys, cleared the entrance exam to Class VII and secured admission in a nearby government school in Mahipalpur. Naseer was illiterate and was a tea stall employee until a couple of years ago. He was lucky to find his way to the Kusumpur Learning Centre and in an incredibly short span of time he has made it to Class VII of a mainstream school and got promoted to class VIII this year.

Faisal and Ali have put their tragic past well behind them and have successfully cleared the class 8 OBE exams. They have now registered for the class 10 exam. They continue to do very well at their respective jobs at Hotel Trident and Cosmic Kitchen. They are extremely grateful to Ritinjali for all the support extended to them.
All the boys that attend school have successfully cleared their exams. Minku, who was in class VIII, has been promoted to class IX. Suraj has been promoted to class XII and David has just appeared for the class X board examination.

   A game of Table Tennis being played

Manglu Ram, who was working as an Office Assistant at a Job Consultancy called India Trust, is now enrolled for the Educational Programme at Pallavanjali for further growth and a brighter future.
Shabaaz , who was working in a wheel alignment shop,  has been placed as an apprentice in the Bakery and Confectionary section of Hotel Peppermint. He is thrilled with the shift and gave all the other SCS boys a treat with his first stipend.

Dinesh Rai , who had successfully completed the Cutting and Tailoring Course from Ritinjali , enrolled himself in the same course from ITI. He has now been chosen as an apprentice for Mr. Tarun Tahiliani. It is a great opportunity for him to work with one of the finest designers. A very special thank you to Mr Tahiliani for giving a very deserving Dinesh such a great opportunity.

Abbas,  who has  been  having problems with a dislocated arm ever since childhood, has undergone surgery at Safdarjang Hospital and has recovered completely.

Independence Day was celebrated with patriotic fervour.   The National flag was unfurled by the youngest member of the SCS. The boys were then divided into two groups and they played soccer and cricket. This was followed by a painting workshop organized by Mr Reyaz Baddruddin. Each of the boys painted a picture using water colours. Lunch followed and the boys were happy with the T- shirts they received too. The boys enjoyed the movie 3 Idiots that was screened specially for them. After a day full of fun, the boys went back home, happy and content.

The Second Chance boys lent their full support to the relief and rehabilitation work for the victims of the flash flood at Leh. They were instrumental in carrying the huge load of material to J & K House in Delhi, segregating and packing it, loading it all into the truck and finally dispatching it to the airport to be airlifted to Leh.

Diwali brought much happiness to the boys of the Second Chance School. They celebrated the festival by lighting diyas and candles and bursting   crackers. They all enjoyed the special Diwali dinner and were thrilled to receive Diwali gifts from Ms. Usha Kapur.

Suraj Kumar, Dinesh Kumar and Abbas Khan have been assigned extra responsibilities according to their aptitude and ability. They carry out all the office chores in the absence of an Office Assistant at Ritinjali head office and appear to be doing a good job.

The Second Chance School was the venue of the OBE exams. The SCS boys worked well together to ensure that all the arrangements were in place and the exams were conducted smoothly.

The SCS boys went to Connaught Place to witness a most unusual acrobatic performance called Bandaloop. The boys thoroughly enjoyed watching acrobats performing on the top of high-rise buildings.

Christmas was celebrated with the traditional spirit of goodwill at the Centre. A cake was cut and a short cultural programmeme was staged by the children. They enjoyed the snacks and the special dinner that was organized for them later that evening. The boys were given sweaters, jackets, new shoes and other warm winter wear.
On  New  Year ’s  Eve,  Miss  Aruna Goenka took the boys out to dinner. The boys had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the meal at Hotel Impress.

A second chance boy at the bakery and confectionery center

The boys of the SCS and the students   of the Vocational centre got together to bring in the New Year with a cultural programme. All the children enjoyed the celebrations and the snacks that were distributed.

The SCS boys worked very hard to make the Youth Day Celebrations on the 12th  of January a great success. They actively participated in the three skits and the debate that was held on the occasion. The boys ensured that the entire building was cleaned thoroughly. Suraj was awarded first prize in the debate.
The boys helped willingly with the winter drive that was organized to collect blankets and warm clothes for the homeless poor. They were instrumental in carrying the voluminous contributions to the office and sorting and organizing them in bundles. They also helped to distribute the entire collection to the needy on the streets of Delhi.

The boys got together with the students of the vocational centre for a street play titled ‘Sab Chalta Hai’, which was staged on the occasion of Ritinjali’s 16th birthday celebrations on February 12th 2011 at Anandgram.

The SCS boys who go to Pallavanjali conduct classes everyday in the afternoon for about 50 children in the new Learning Centre behind Artemis Hospital in Sector-51, Gurgaon. The SCS boys accompanied the children of the Sector-51 centre and all the other vocational students on a picnic to the Rail Museum and India Gate. The boys were very responsible and highly protective of the children of the new centre.