Roshni is an 11 year old girl who studies in Class III at Shiksha. She comes from an underprivileged family that migrated to Gurugram, Haryana from their village in Bihar where she had a poor early education that left her struggling with the basics. She has three sisters and both her parents are engaged in hard manual labour, working as mason's for a daily wage at construction sites.
When Roshni was first admitted to Shiksha last year she was malnourished and wouldn't participate in class at all. Her attendance during these first few months was inconsistent making it difficult for her to adjust. Her mother said that she was very shy, and wasn't confident in her speech. Like her older sisters they planned that she would be married at an early age. Her parents were not against her continuing her education but viewed an early marraige as the safer option for her. With some counselling over time they began sending her to Shiksha regularly.
At Shiksha Roshni completed all her basic immunizations, this along with de-worming and the nutritional support of a mid-day meal has helped her reach a developmentally appropriate and healthy height and weight. With regular attendance she has become more confident in her speech, and established a group of friends in her class. When her teacher noticed that the she was interested in drawing and coloring she held up her artwork as an example for the whole class. Her most recent artwork espouses the message of educating girls for the betterment of the country.
She is a friendly and intelligent girl that just needed encouragement and a boost. She now tells us in hindi that "I want to do well and bring light to my parents name" (i.e. make them proud). She says she is determined to obtain her education and to become a doctor some day. We will be supporting Roshni to obtain her education and encourage her to dream big and go into the world with confidence. Her younger sister has also recently enrolled in Kindergarten at Shiksha.
You can help us provide quality education for young girls like Roshni and her sister by contributing to Shiksha's GlobalGiving project!
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