Educated Mothers Can Influence Generations To Come

Rachna, an Educate Girls’ Team Balika (community volunteer), is part of a five member family and has two siblings. Her parents are farmers. Along with doing certain household chores, Rachna helps her mother in some farming activities as well. She shares that her mother has been of invaluable support to her in being able to volunteer and pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree simultaneously, “Had my mother not supported me and reduced the amount of household chores I did, I wouldn’t have been able to contribute my time so easily.”

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Rachna joined Educate Girls in December 2015. She learned about the NGO from our local Field Coordinator, Maya. She realized how helping children in her village go to school and learn better would mean progress for the entire village.

Statistics tell us that in a developing nation when a girl receives seven years of education, she marries four years later, has 2.2 fewer, healthier children and is more likely to send her children to school. Therefore, empowering young girls to go to school and learn well, positively impacts not just an entire generation, but the ones to follow.

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Rachna says, “I still remember the first time I visited the school as a Team Balika. I introduced myself to the children and found such fulfillment even in just interacting with them casually. With assistance from Maya didi, I eventually started teaching students using Gyan Ka Pitara*. Even during the holidays, I would teach the students who were interested. I spent extra time individually teaching the weaker students and helped them learn alphabets, and read and write with ease. Sometimes we would sit under a tree in our village, and with the help of the kit, we would make stories together which helped the children enjoy the entire process. I was able to do all this because my mother supported me throughout my journey. She not only saw the capability in me, but also the value of the work I was doing.”

This Mother’s Day, we applaud all the wonderful moms out there, even those who may not have had the opportunity to study or work themselves, for empowering their sons and daughters to dare to dream and reach their full potential.

Thank you, Moms! Happy Mother’s Day!

*Gyan ka Pitara is a learning and teaching kit designed by Educate Girls. Its activity and worksheet-based tools are aimed at improving learning outcomes for children in grades 3-5, across Hindi, English and Math.