In search of knowledge in the back alleys of Chow Kit

One rainy Sunday night, I made an appointment with 28-year-old activist Benz Ali to visit a tuition centre for poor children at Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur.

“It is still raining. I am not sure whether the children will come for tuition,” said Benz, who seemed quite concerned that my presence would be an exercise in futility.

We waited by a textile store called Alka Ria by the side of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which is where the tuition is being held.

The tuition is not conducted at the three-storey shoplot but in the back alleys.

Several homeless people were sitting idly or lying down on the floor under a pile of paper boxes or newspapers seeking shelter as the night beckoned.

By 9pm, a group of children arrived, unaccompanied by their parents. Carrying umbrellas and small bags, they are aged between two and 15. They appeared jovial and shouted, “We want tuition!”

Benz proceeded to move the “classes” to the back alley of the shoplot where rubber mats were placed on the street for the children to sit. The children were slightly protected from the rain under the bright street lights.

These street alleys are the favourite haunts of drug addicts and the destitute, but now it is filled with children learning how to read and count.

Benz started the “class” last month, while another non-governmental organisation called Region Of Love teaches arts to the children every Thursday and Saturday. It also gives sewing classes to the girls.

Through his friendship with the NGO, Benz volunteered to organise the tuition classes for “his pupils”.

That night more pupils turned up and two volunteer teachers, Siti Rahayu and Amir Al-Helmy, were on hand to teach them, using a makeshift black board.

The pupils took off their shoes as they sat on the rubber and plastic mats.

“We will learn Maths and multiplication today,” said Siti, who jotted down on her notebook the attendance of the pupils.

Learning under the street lights

I sat next to a girl and asked her about her parents. The girl replied that her mother was queuing up for food at a soup kitchen in front of the shop.

“What makes you come here?” I asked.

“Because I can get some food here easily,” said the girl sheepishly.

Standard Three pupil Ajin (not her real name), who studies at a nearby school in Chow Kit, comes here everyday with her mother and sister after a 10-minute walk from their house.

“I like to come here because I can play and get food,” she said, while a boy snuggled up to us to say he too came for the food besides the studies.

“I enjoy coming here,” said Ridzuan (not his real name). He pointed the direction to his home, saying he often comes to the tuition with his grandfather, mother and four siblings.

“At night, there are always teachers who give us tuition and there are also other activities,” said Ridzuan. If there are no classes, he would stay back to play with his other friends.

Under the street lights, the children were seen memorising the multiplication tables, and using their fingers to count.

For the next three hours, they were engrossed in their studies. These children came from the urban poor area around Chow Kit.

Locals and migrant workers would come here to collect food and other supplies that had been donated, while letting their children play.

Most of the fathers earn between RM1,000 and RM1,500 a month, which is insufficient to support their family members in a city as big as Kuala Lumpur.

Open library for the homeless

Benz said he was shocked to see the children roaming the streets late at night.

“I was eating at a nearby mamak restaurant when I saw the children playing between 8pm and 9pm. If this continues for the next 10 years, they will destroy themselves.

“So I thought something must be done. There is a need for tuition classes for them. There are NGOs giving out food but none giving education,” said Benz.

Benz (photo) has now become a full-time activist and also sells book online. He studied at a local university, but had to stop mid-way because his family could not afford to pay for his studies.

Benz started an open library in Chow Kit for the homeless last August where they can borrow and read books.

The library is run with the help of Siti and a couple, Hazri and Hajar. Later, other volunteers chipped in.

“We used a vacant spot to set up this open library where the homeless can spend their time reading some books,” said Benz. The library is open every Sunday from 9pm to midnight.

“Even on rainy days we get many children coming to the library. We cannot turn them away,” said Benz.

Then came the tuition project. Benz sees it as an effective tool to break the cycle of poverty for these children so that they could stand on their own feet.

“That's our objective: to ensure that they don't destroy their future. If we can educate them constantly, maybe these children would avoid taking drugs,” he said.

Benz teaches Maths and English but he emphasises that the purpose is not to prepare the children for examinations but to create interest in learning.

“You have to remember there are many unemployed graduates. If these children know English, maybe some of them can become tourist guides,” he said, adding that this is his first experience in organising such classes.

Meanwhile, Siti, 35, (photo) who teaches at a private school in the daytime, said she volunteered to offer her services.

Amir, who had just completed his studies overseas, decided to offer his services to help the children after seeing their plight on Facebook. -Mkini