Pooja overcomes her fear and takes a second chance at education

After failing her Grade 10 examinations twice, Pooja lost hope as she was taunted by her community for this failure. Her family members told her that she would never be able to pass the exam and so she should give up. Filled with anger and sadness, Pooja dropped out of school. She busied herself with household chores. As the days passed, she forgot about her education.

When Educate Girls’ Field Coordinator Farzana conducted a door-to-door survey with Pragati Prerak Chanchal, they found out about Pooja. They told her that it was possible for her to successfully pass her 10th Grade exams. All she had to do was come regularly to Pragati camp. They informed her about the Rajasthan State Open School and gave her all the necessary information.

Pooja had lost confidence in herself as she had faced a lot of ridicule from her friends and family for failing twice. She was hesitant to try another chance at education. Chanchal and Farzana tried to convince her on multiple occasions but she kept refusing. Chanchal did not stop trying. She visited her house and began spending a considerable amount of time with Pooja. She explained the camp’s teaching process, the subjects she could choose and all the resources she would be provided with, such as mock tests for exam preparation.

Finally, Pooja agreed to take her Grade 10 exams once again. She saw other girls and women from her village going to Pragiti camp and that helped convince her. 

She began attending Pragati learning camp regularly. She studied diligently and took help from Chanchal whenever she faced any challenge. With hard work, she passed her Grade 10 exams with ease in the first attempt itself.

Her progress made her family members very happy. It gave Pooja the confidence to motivate people around her such as her sister-in-law to also go to Pragati camp. Now Pooja and her sister-in-law have convinced Pooja’s brother as well to take the exam!

Pooja’s story reminds us that ‘educating a girl child means educating a family’.