COMPUTER LITERACY CLASS FOR 30 INDIAN GIRLS

Dear donors,

Warm greetings from IDEA!

This year 5 girls got an opportunity to join Tally class through Global Giving. All of them are undergraduates studying Commerce from various colleges in Pune. We collaborated with ICA (Institute for Computer Accounting) for admitting 5 girls in their batch. They provide career oriented IT enabled training in accounts and taxation. All of them completed that course successfully. Anita is one of them.

Anita (name changed) is an active and enthusiastic girl. She is studying in 1^st year of B.Com. She lives with her family in one of the slum communities in Pune. Anita has two brothers and one younger sister. All of them live in a very small room. She is in IDEA’s sponsorship program from past twelve years. Her father is an unskilled worker and her mother works as a tailor. When her grandmother came to Pune in search of job due to drought in their native place Solapur, her father was a child. Her father used to work at the construction site but he met with an accident while at work. He fell down from the third floor and had a fracture. Doctor put a rod in his hand. But he is not able to use his hand like earlier. Therefore he stopped working. Gradually he started drinking alcohol and got addicted to it. The entire household responsibility fell on Anita’s mother. Her mother was illiterate but she was very keen on continuing her education. She joined adult literacy program and secured good marks with first prize. She can read and write. She stitches clothes and earns to meet both ends. Anita’s father cannot work much and therefore most of the times stays home. So her mother has to work very hard to cover household expenses. Anita’s eldest brother could not go to school because of an illness in childhood. He has recently got a job in a garage where he earns Rs. 5000 a month.

Anita is very studious. She secured 68.70 % marks in 12^th and 74 % in 1^st semester of B.Com. During exam time, her neighbors purposely bother her. They raise volumes of TV and home theatre. She finds it extremely difficult to study in this environment. But she overcomes these problems and studies hard. Most of the men in her neighborhood are alcoholic and they use foul languages frequently. They are illiterate and believe that when a girl is grown up, she should be married off. They tell her to restrict her life in household chores only. They insist her parents to get her married. But Anita’s parents ignore them because they are convinced about her education and her future. According to Anita, her father is very liberal and does not discriminate among his children. He is alcoholic but he does not bother anyone. He motivates and supports children. He feels that Anita should become a strong girl.

Anita gained confidence through life skill sessions and motivational sessions conducted by IDEA. She improved her English through spoken English class. She was curious to understand functions of human body, physical and emotional changes during adolescent age. In critical condition of her family, she received aid through IDEA and she could continue her education. Otherwise she had to stop her education. Her mother thanks IDEA for being a backbone of their family. According to Anita and her mother, college fee, notebooks and college bag is a great help for them. That saves their one year school expenses and do not find education as a burden.

Anita had a desire to do Tally course but she did not apply due to financial problem. She was rejoiced to hear that IDEA was going to support 5 girls for Tally course. She completed the course in 2 months. According to her teacher in ICA, Anita’s learning capacity is very good and she always takes initiative to answer. She does not have access to computer to practice at home. Anita performed very well in Tally class and ICA has offered her a job opportunity as well. She will be joining in the first week of April, 2015. Most importantly she could continue her education as well. She will go to a morning college and work with ICA for the rest of the day. Her salary will be Rs. 5000 a month. This will help her pay college fees. She is very happy for it.

Thank you for reading her story and supporting her course. It is because of you these girls stand on their own feet and climb the ladder!