By Srirajni Narkiewicz | Digital Fundraiser
"I’m Aatisha and I’m in 9th standard. I'm 13 years old. I live in the slum area of Vishrantwadi, in Pune.
I live with my grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunty, and my father. My father is a labourer, working on the construction sites and my mother died 4 years ago. My grandfather is very old hence he has to do whatever job he can find. My grandmother works as domestic help. My uncle cannot work as he is mentally not well.
In my house, everyday my father would come home drunk and fight with my grandfather and my grandmother. I didn’t like it when he fought with them. I was feeling there was no one for me in the world but the project’s social worker helped me come out of this situation.
The pandemic started and my school was shut down. It seemed that my education would come to a stop. I didn’t have a smartphone to join online classes and I could not afford to buy one. I was feeling very sad, but what to do?
The social worker came to my house and enquired about me and my situation about studying in school. I felt I was cared for because of her. She gave me a laptop so I could attend my studies remotely. We also come together in fewer numbers and with precautions for Covid-19 and attend class. We sit at a distance, wearing a mask. Sometimes, our teacher showed us some videos which were funny also but very educational. Many girls like me are benefitting very much from this. I also made friends in class, so it doesn’t feel as if I’m only at school to learn. After joining class, I am out of my house for 2 hours and that gives me the energy and inspiration for education from other girls in class. I don’t fear the coronavirus but I fear my home situation in lockdown. But due to class, I get to study. I also am relieved from housework and all of this together has given me confidence. I am also going to give my exam for SSC next year. So thank you for giving me the opportunity for studying during these times, as well as providing the groceries for my family when my father and grandparents were out of work. It has made a great difference to me and my family.”
By Erika narkiewicz | Digital Fundraiser
By Erika Narkiewicz | Digital Fundraiser
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.