Abdul Munaf, founder of Gully Classes Foundation

Abdul Munaf was 17 years old when he started a Facebook page named ‘Help others’, in 2017. Keen to do something for the poor, he began to distribute idlis, biscuits and poha with his school friends to residents of the slums in Ghatkopar.

He also worked for his family’s dairy business and used the pocket money that he got to fund his social activities. In 2018, when he was in Kota, Rajasthan, he started Gully Classes with his friends. where they taught underprivileged kids in a garden and on a street corner. He now runs Gully Classes in Jagruti Nagar in Ghatkopar (West), where 90 students study. Apart from teaching the students, Abdul’s volunteers also conduct extracurricular activities and provide books and stationery, snacks, a tiffin box, water bottle and school bags. Jagruti Nagar’s Gully Classes run in a garden. They also started a Gully Classes centre in Azad Nagar but had to rent a room due to the lack of a garden or public space. In a short period, as students increased, they rented a bigger flat for Rs 13,000 a month. They also participate in the Mithi river clean-up at two locations on weekends with the students, mostly children of migrant workers.