📚 Classroom on the move
For many children living on the streets of Bhubaneswar, survival comes before education. Forced by poverty, many boys and girls as young as six spend their days collecting recyclable waste from garbage dumps, missing out on the safety, care and learning that every child deserves.
To ensure that no child is denied the right to education because of where they live, Ruchika pioneered the innovative "School on Wheels" initiative. Bringing classrooms directly to children in street situations, the programme provides education, nutritious meals, healthcare, counselling and a pathway to a brighter future.
The journey began in 2005 with a simple trolley-rickshaw transformed into a mobile classroom. As the programme expanded, it evolved into battery-operated mobile learning units, enabling Ruchika to reach more children across the city.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the support of the Tourism Finance Corporation of India, Ruchika launched three additional School on Wheels, ensuring uninterrupted education while providing nutrition and essential support to children living on the streets during one of the most challenging periods in recent history.
Today, the initiative operates five School on Wheels, reaching more than 360 children everyday living in street situations across Bhubaneswar. This transformative programme is made possible through the generous support of the Rotary Club of Bhubaneswar and the Inner Wheel Club, which jointly support one mobile school, the Azim Premji Foundation, which supports two, and Basis School, which supports one.
Every stop the School on Wheels makes is more than a classroom—it is a place where children rediscover hope, dignity and the opportunity to dream of a future beyond the streets.