“please Help Me Go To School?”

“Can you please help me go to school?”
A plea many Educate Girls’ Team Balika (community volunteers) and Field Coordinators have heard from young girls when the
girls’ families or their circumstances don’t allow them to.

14-year old Ritu had made a similar plea to Kiran, the Educate Girls‘ field coordinator in her village in Bundi district, Rajasthan. While Ritu is currently enrolled in a Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), her journey back to school wasn’t an easy one. Her parents work as laborers and she has three younger siblings. Ritu used to go to school until Class 4 when she had to drop out to take care of the household, especially her infant twin siblings, who used to be unwell and needed to be constantly looked after while their parents were out at work all day.

Kiran (field coordinator) and the Team Balika both visited the family and tried convincing Ritu’s parents to send her back to school. While her mother was okay with her going to school again, her father took five to six months to agree. Ritu earnestly wanted to go to school but whenever she was asked in front of her parents, she used to say that it was okay if she didn’t go. However, after a while she privately confided in Kiran and implored her to complete the admission process for her even though her father hadn’t agreed yet.

Touched by her desire, and not wanting Ritu to miss out on another year, Kiran herself filled the enrollment form for her. Ritu was selected as one of the girls to get admission into the KGBV but now it all came down to convincing her father as only the parents of the girl were authorized to drop off their child at the KGBV and finalize the paperwork. Kiran spent 2 months before the start of the academic year convincing Ritu’s father and fortunately he agreed!

Ritu’s parents are now happy that they chose to send their daughter to school because they see how she is growing in confidence and knowledge and have begun to realize the difference that education can make.

You can help us bring young girls like Ritu back into school by contributing here.