Give a girl a bike: help her to go to school

Dear Mann Deshi Supporters,

“The cycle given to me by Mann Deshi has allowed me to reach school on time. And since I have started saving time on my daily commute to school, I utilize it to study. Earlier I was able to score 60 percent marks in my exams, but now I am scoring 75 percent” says Jyoti.

Jyoti is a student in the 5^th standard. Her family situation is very financially insecure. She lives in a small house, with a thatched roof, along with her parents, her four sisters and her younger brother. Her family does not own any land of their own to cultivate, and therefore, Jyoti’s mother, Shantabai, works as a wage labourer. They barely manage their household expenses with her income.

Jyoti and her family’s everyday existence became even more difficult when her father started drinking. The entire responsibility of running the household and taking care of the children had to be borne by her mother alone, and she became depressed. However, to manage expenses, Shantabai began to work on their neighbour’s field, from which she earns around 3000/- a month. On holidays, Jyoti and her four sisters go the fields to help their mother.

Shantabai dreams of giving her children a good education and making them independent. Jyoti mentions that, without Mann Deshi’s timely help, her mother’s dream could not have had a chance to come true. Mann Deshi, under its Young Girls’ Initiative, gifted Jyoti and many other school-going girls like her bicycles, to make it easier for them to go to school. Jyoti says that they barely manage to eat two meals in a day, so purchasing a bicycle would have been out of the question for them. Jyoti and her four sisters used to go walking to school before, from Gundevadi to Chetavali. Now, at least two of her sisters can use the cycle to go to school, in much less time. They use the extra time productively, to study.

Since she received the cycle, Jyoti’s hopes have risen and she has become inspired to learn more. She now goes to school on time every day, and gets more time to study. She is determined to achieve her goal of becoming a police officer one day.

Quote from Jyoti's mother: 

“Since my husband and me are both engaged in daily labour, both our daughters used to commute on foot everyday. Even the younger one used to walk long distances. We are grateful to Mann Deshi Foundation for giving bicycles to our daughters. Since my husband is an alcoholic and I am a daily wage earner, we live a hand to mouth existence. Under these circumstances, we would never have been able to afford bicycles for our daughters.”

Thank you for all support received from GlobalGiving.

Hear from, Rajani, a bicycle recipient in the 9th grade to understand a bit more about your donation’s impact.

“My name is Rajani. I am from Dhuldev village. Beffore getting a bicycle, I always used to travel by bus to go to school.

My family’s situation is not that great when it comes to money. My dad is a wage laborer. My mom is also a wage laborer. And because my parents are wage laborers, there’s awlays a shortage of money in my house. Even if I want to buy a small piece of candy, I have to think ten times. I feel sad when I see my mom wake up at 5 AM working on other people’s fields. It’s hard labor.

I believe that money is everything for humans. My mom always says it because she is going through it. She believes that we should all work hard and that is when our situation will be better.

Even though we are poor, they still want me to go to school. In total, we are 4 siblings. I have 2 older sisters and one younger brother. My older sister is in 12th grade so she requires some extra money, which my uncle helps us with even though he doesn’t have that much money either.

Though my mom has never been to school, she still wants me and my siblings to go to school and do something different - not be wage laborers.

From home, my school is 7 km away. Because it is 7 km away, I used to not get home until 6 PM. I always dreamt about my bicycle but because of my family’s situation I never thought I could get it.

Since Mann Deshi has give me a bicycle, it’s like my dream came true.

I also enjoy the breeze while riding the bicycle. I love to ride my bicycle. Now, everyday I go to school on my bicycle. Even though sometimes I’m scared while riding alone on my bicycle, I still want to do it because I enjoy it and my parents want me to study.

I want to study a lot and make my family name proud. I’m really thankful for Mann Deshi for giving me this bicycle.”

We plan to give out ten more bicycles next week to girls like Rajani. On their behalf, thank you.

• About our Bicycle Programme (PDF)
  

Dear Mann Deshi Supporters,

I would like to share a story of Snehal, a bicycle girl.

Fourteen year old Snehal attends the 9^th standard of the New English School in Vele. Her father is a truck driver and she lives with eleven other family members in a tiny home about three kilometres away from her school. Early each morning, Sneha and her brother walk to school. Despite the gruelling commute, she is not only an excellent student but also enjoys  participating in sports, cultural and other co-curricular activities after school.

Since she received her new bicycle, Shehal, who also ferries her brother to school, has more time to participate in her beloved extracurricular activities. Her family is also very relieved that both children now have a safe journey to and from school.

Thank you so much for GlobalGiving for all its continuous support.

Help girls pedal their educational journeys

 “I reach school in time by pedaling the distance and attend all the lectures. I used to walk 4 kms and often miss first lecture.” Says Trupti.

Mann Deshi helps girls like Trupti attend school by providing bicycles. In 2017, we have provided bicycles to 200 deserving girls and kept them in school. Commuting on bicycles also facilitates their physical development as well as the campaign sends out eco-friendly message.

Trupti's parents said, “Now, we don't panic about Trupti's safety as riding the bicycle, she safely reaches home before it’s dark outside.”

Thank you so much !

Links:

• Chetna Sinha to co-chair the 48th World Economic Forum 2018
• Entrepreneur with Social Impact for the FILA 2017

Snehal is a student at the New English School in Vele. Her father is a truck driver and she lives with 11 other family members 3 km away from her school. Sheha wakes up very early each day to walk to school with her brother. However, despite all her difficulties, she is one of the best performers at her school. In addition to her school work, Snehal also participates in sports, cultural and other co-curricular activities after school.  However, participating in after school activities was very difficult due to the long commute back in the evening.

Since she received the bike, Shehal spends less time going to school and more time learning and participating in various extracurricular activities. Her family is also very glad that Snehal has a safe and reliable method of getting to school, and are proud of their daughter’s accomplishments.

Thank you so much for all GlobalGiving supporters...