Darjeeling, Nov. 9: Anju Sharma is only seven years old but the daughter of a carpenter is aware that she needs to work hard if she wants to earn a decent living. Her dreams were already crashing, until recently.

Members of Hill Welfare Society have come as a saviour for hundreds of under-privileged students like Anju, who want to lead a different life but are held back due to financial constraints.

Since September this year, the members have set up nine special schools in Darjeeling and 11 in Kurseong. “We have very flexible timings to help students attend classes,” said Praveen M. Titimus, vice-president, Hill Welfare Society (Darjeeling branch). The centres now have almost 500 students.

Many primary schools in the hills have allowed the society to use their infrastructure after regular classes are over. “We are running these centres from contributions made by our members. Every thing is for free,” said Titimus.

Most of the teachers of these special schools are volunteers from St Joseph’s College.