Taramati’s mission to empower the next generation with education

For the past year, Taramati Vishwakarma has been passionately and courageously working as a Team Balika Volunteer for Educate Girls, aiming to fulfil the dreams of children in her village by connecting them with education. 

Taramati hails from a remote village in Kushinagar District, Uttar Pradesh, where she lives with her family of five. Taramati’s father is a farmer, and her mother is a housewife. Education was not a priority in Taramati’s family, leading to her two sisters marrying early without pursuing their education. However, Taramati showed a keen interest in learning from a young age, harbouring a desire to do something different with her life.

Despite lacking support, Taramati’s determination led her to pursue education until class 12. “I wanted to bring happiness to my life and glory to my parents and village through education. However, I did not receive any guidance or support about what steps I needed to take. I ended up abandoning my studies midway. Yet, I remained hopeful that one day I would find a way to overcome this and make my villagers proud,” says Taramati.

After discontinuing her studies, Taramati devoted herself to teaching the children in her village, inspiring them to cherish learning. Her vision was to cultivate an educated society. One day, during a visit by a field coordinator from Educate Girls, Taramati’s efforts were noticed. Impressed by her dedication, the field coordinator invited her to work as a volunteer in her village. Taramati was delighted by the opportunity. She eagerly joined Educate Girls’ volunteer community, ready to contribute selflessly. 

Through her association with Educate Girls, Taramati conducted Mohalla Meetings and village education assemblies to raise awareness about education and facilitated the enrolment of many girls. Recognising her impactful work, Taramati was offered a role at the school to facilitate the use of Gyan Ka Pitara, a supplementary remedial learning curriculum created and designed by Educate Girls to improve learning levels in English, Hindi, and Math for grades 3^rd – 5^th through activities and play. She excelled in this role and has received several awards for her outstanding contributions. 

More importantly, Educate Girls has provided Taramati with guidance on resuming her studies and supporting her in realising her dreams. Reflecting on her journey, Taramati says, “With the support of Educate Girls, I was able to connect the children of my village to mainstream education, paving the way for their happiness and betterment.”