Surbhi*, a 13-year old from a village in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh is the apple of her grandfather’s eye. Everyone calls her grandpa’s ‘Pampered Princess’. Every evening she sits with her grandfather and her siblings and can be seen reciting poems, narrating stories or just sharing her experiences at school from earlier in the…
A TEACHER USES HIS PERSONAL SAVINGS TO MAKE HIS SCHOOL SAFE, COMFORTABLE AND FUN FOR GIRLS
Every once in a while we come across stories of teachers who go beyond their role and are inspiring change on the ground. One such teacher is Shankar Lal Kaag who is the Head Master of a Government-run girls’ lower-primary school located in a village in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. Shankar Lal is an…
SUDHA RISES ABOVE GENDER-BIAS
“As soon as I heard about the arrival of Sudha’s* family, I went to meet them. Unfortunately, they turned a deaf ear when I spoke to them about her enrolment. I questioned their decision to let their elder son study but not Sudha. I tried explaining them about gender equality and gave them examples of…
GOING BEYOND THE DUTIES OF AN SMC MEMBER
In this village of Rajasthan, only 2 boys have completed their 10th Grade. The upper-primary school being 5 kilometers away, most parents refuse to send their children to school since they would better serve at home learning farming or doing other chores. When Educate Girls intervened in this village, it was very difficult for the…
AN INTERN’S EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE
As a child, being on time to school was my only worry. However, in some remote corner of the country lives a girl who is willing to walk across the hill for more than an hour just to reach her school. With dedication, persistence and support from her family, at least she is going to…
A FATHER SELLS HIS GOATS TO SECURE A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR HIS CHILDREN!
11-year old Divya’s father is a construction worker in a village in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Her mother also works as a labourer in the same village. In addition to the income generated from their respective occupations, they also rear goats. Many rural households in India consider a goat as an asset and a…
A MOTHER TRANSITIONS FOR HER DAUGHTERS
Javli Bai is a strong woman who stands firm on what she believes in. While this is in no way a bad thing, her misplaced belief system almost cost her daughters a great deal. A while back Javli Bai, like so many other parents in her village, was very adamant about not sending her daughters…
GYAN KA PITARA (GKP) HELPS LITTLE SHEELA CATCH UP WITH HER STUDIES
Sheela* was very young when her parents left their village to look for work in the city. They have a small farm in the village but it hardly generated any income to sustain the family of eight members. So they left Sheela and her younger sister along with their grand-parents and took the eldest and…
EDUCATE A GIRL TO ENSURE BETTER HEALTH AND HYGIENE
14-year old Sanjana* lives with her parents and 2 younger brothers in a village in Ajmer, India, situated in close vicinity to stone mining grounds. Sanjana’s home, just like the others, is perpetually covered in a thin sheet of white sand – particulates of stone that seem to constantly be in the air, settling on…
TURNING DREAMS INTO REALITY
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt This inspiring quote by Eleanor Roosevelt truly resonates with the story of 20-year old Pintu who hails from a small village in Udaipur. Like any other girl in her village, Pintu’s daily routine also included cooking, cleaning and feeding the…
