Support Girls' Education in India

Name: Neha
Age: 13
Region: Chauli, Jharkhand

Neha is a 7^th grade student at High School Chauli. Prior to this year, Neha was a problematic student – starting fights in her classes and making rude comments about the other children. When teachers and classmates would try and correct Neha or help her to figure out a mistake on a math or English assignment, Neha would fly into a rage and often leave the classroom. In one instance, in her Home Science lab, she abused her lab partners so much that they left the classroom out of fear of being around the young girl. Then one day a student alerted a Social Mobilizer - a female mentor who provides support to girls in the program - about Neha’s behavior, explaining that Neha made students afraid to come to school and distracted them during the school day. When the Social Mobilizer spoke to Neha, she seemed defensive and unable to really take responsibility for her actions and her behavior.

Soon after this conversation, our team visited Neha’s home and spoke to the girl and her mother about Neha’s outbursts in the classroom and the ways in which her comments were hurting other students in her class. The Social Mobilizer invited Neha’s mother to attend life skills workshops with her daughter where our team led the two women in role playing exercises to highlight the impact of Neha’s current behavior. After one of these workshops, Neha broke down crying and explained that she suffers from a chronic illness and that most of her behavior is fueled by the pain and discomfort she is in. Upon hearing this news, our team worked with Neha’s mother to figure out how to address this underlying cause of Neha’s behavior, addressing both the physical and emotional needs.

Now in Grade 7, Neha’s behavior has improved dramatically and her classmates enjoy being around her. When she does act out, Neha takes responsibility for her actions and apologizes almost immediately. Neha is even helping younger students with their coursework, tutoring these children and encouraging them to continue with their studies. Our team is extremely proud of Neha’s progress, and we look forward to tracking her continued achievements.