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

"Cycle is my best friend so I take a good care of my best friend", says Sunita

Sunita (aged 16) lives with her father, mother and 2 elder brothers in Mhaswad, Maharashtra. Both of her parents are farmers and support Sunita’s eduation but the jounrey has been a difficult one. It used to take Sunita 40 minutes to get to school so she would get there late and come home late—a very exhausting process that affected her studies.

After receiving a bicycle from Mann Deshi, Sunita is able to reach school within 15-20 min by cycling, thereby saving time by almost 30 min. Because of that she able to studied more for her 10^th grade exams and is achieve 90%.

She wants to be a police officer and serve the nation; and for that regular exercise is must. However cycling is one of the best forms of exercising. Sunita said "Cycle is my best friend so I take a good care of my best friend"

Thanks to Global Giving as this all possible because of Global Giving Supporters.

"I dream to join the Police force", says Pratiksha--

Pratiksha a bright student studying in grade 8^th, is a student at High School. She stays in Ubermala .The distance between her house and the school is around 3km. Her parents are labourers. For Pratiksha going to school would be a painful task as she would have to walk daily about 30-45 min everyday to school. This would consume around 1-.1-5 hours of walking everyday between school and home. Complaining of her woes, Pratikhsha says “Sometimes I would reach school late by around 30-45 min resulting in missing the 1^st class .I wouldn’t understand what whatever what taught next .My legs would ache and by the time I would get home I would be exhausted .This would result in little time for study and other household work.

Pratiksha was donated a cycle by the Mann Deshi Foundation. The cycle has indeed mitigated many problems she was facing before. “I could not afford a cycle as it is too expensive and my father said that when we have the requisite finance we will definitely purchase it. But somehow that time never came. Thanks to Mann Deshi Foundation, I am able to save- time in travelling and I am able to reach school in 15 min. I am able to study in the time saved resulting in an increment of about 1 hour of study. I am fond of the subjects of Marathi, English and Maths.”

Pratiksha dreams to join the Police force someday. She believes that by joining the police force she will be able to help her family. We do hope that Pratiksha achieves her dream some day.

40 Bicycles have been donated by the Mann Deshi Foundation on the occasion of Womens Day, 8th March, 2016.

Thank you,

Vanita

Dear Mann Deshi Supporters, 

Wishing you and your family Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2016 !!

I take this opportunity to thank Friends of Mann Deshi for your wholehearted support which enables us to continue our work in a systematic and sustained manner. 

 “The cycle has helped me cut travelling time by half and this has resulted in increased time for study and play. Previously I would get only 1.5 to 2 hours for myself. But due to this cycle I get almost 3-3.5 hours to do myself study and also engage in extracurricular activities.” says Jyoti. She is fond of dancing and is a regular participant in various Dance Completions.

Due to your support, till date Mann Deshi has been able to reach out to empower 7000 girls like Jyoti, to be in school for higher education. Like every year Mann Deshi Foundation looks forward to your ongoing support through Christmas Gifts donation.

You can visit Global Giving link to make a donation for Christmas Gift -https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/735/mann-deshi-foundation/

You can choose a category within a programme to support us.

1. Give girl a Bike : Help her to go to School

Join Mann Deshi Foundation to create a sustainable and equitable future for all. If you need more information, please feel free to write to me at: chetnavsinha@gmail.com / chetnasinha@manndeshi.org.in

Affectionately,

Chetna  Sinha

Links:

• TEDWomen 2015 : Can you think of a community without hierarchy?
• Freedom Ride Event 2015

“I and other girls like mine, can continue our studies only because of facilities provided by Mann Deshi” – Says Aarti.

Her father was working at Irrigation Department as a seasonal Driver.   Due to the death of father, her family was in trouble and her yielder brother can’t continue his study. But her mother decided to work hard and give higher education to Aarti and her younger brother.

Her younger brother is in 5^th std. and she is in 9^th std. The distance between her school and her living place (Chavanwadi) is between 7 to 8 km. For going to school she has to wake up early in the morning and wait for vehicles. Sometimes she also takes lift from peoples to go to Nira, which she never likes. But as her financial condition is not good they can’t afford to buy a bicycle.

One day she got information about Mann Deshi. She went to Mann Deshi and feel up the form for free bicycle. She got bicycle. Now she go to the school on her own bicycle and need not to take lift from other peoples and need not wait for any bus. Now she can go to school on time and also save her time and money for travelling. She can use her time for study and for helping her mother in work. She wants to become a teacher.

“I was excited for the day that I would get to ride my bicycle to school, and it finally arrived. I woke up early and got ready to go to school. Before school I arrived at the ground, and I saw many other girls like myself there. After some time, the chairperson of Mann Deshi, Madam Chetna Sinha, arrived. The bicycles were given to us by Madam Chetna Sinha. I was very happy. I rode home on the bicycle to show my mother, and she was very excited. My mother told the entire village about the bicycle. I saved a lot of my time, and used it to study more and help my mother at home. I’m very thankful that the Mann Deshi gives bicycles to girls that are very poor and in need. I know that the other girls were also able to save a lot of time from their commute, and decrease the pain in their legs from walking such long distances every day.” Says Sonam.

On the 30^th June 2015, the Mann Deshi Foundation launched a “Freedom Ride Program” bicycle rally and giveaway program in partnership with Atma Cycle. Mann Deshi Foundation has implemented this program as a solution for those young girls in rural Indian communities who otherwise could not afford transportation to school on they reach adolescence, in order to continue their education.

The bicycle giveaway and rally was in partnership with Atma Cycle, a not-for-profit based in Australia that works to deliver bicycles to girls in India so that they may continue their education. During this rally, Mann Deshi donated 100 bicycles to schoolgirls, which will prove greatly beneficial to both their lives and that of their families.

Mann Deshi is thankful to Global Giving as this all possible because of Global Giving Supporters.