Educate One Girl for One Month in Rural India

Let us introduce you to Khushboo, 11 years old, and Nishu, 10 years old, who are two of the 100 girls now attending the Kaliyachak Girls School.

Khushboo is studying in the 4th standard at the school. She is a good student and proud of ranking second in her class. She was born and lives in village Mal Bigha which is right next door to Kaliyachak.

Khushboo's parents work a small piece of farmland as well as working as sharecroppers. Khushboo has two brothers. She is especially interested in music and mathematics. She loves all kinds of play, skipping, football and in particular, carrom, a popular board game in India. She is sure she wants to study further after she completes her education at the Kaliyachak Girls School although she is not certain about where and how she will continue her studies.

Nishu is in the 6th standard. She ranks first in her class. She was born and lives in the nearby village of Gaura.

Nishu's parents work as sharecroppers, where they can find daily casual labour, and have a small piece of land of their own. Nishu is the youngest of five children in her family. One of her two brothers and one of her three sisters are married. Her favourite subjects are Hindi and art. She is good at tailoring and she loves all games. She definitely wants to complete school and to go to high school after she graduates from the school in Kaliyachak.

Both the girls may not have the opportunity to study after school, but let's see what we can do to change that.

The rural hamlet of Kaliyachak and the surrounding communities do not have a government school for girls. The nearest one is 7 kilometers away and is co-ed. Many parents, fearing for their childrens' safety are unwilling to risk sending their daughters to the co-educational government school and, unable to afford private education, rely on the Kaliyachak Girls School for their daughters' education.

The school's students come from Kaliyachak and the six neighbouring hamlets of Aganu Bigha, Kapsiwayan, Mal Bigha, Bhat Bigha, Sarista Nagar and Hazari. It is estimated that these villages together have an additional 350+ girls out of school.

With your help, we're giving these girls the gift of education and all the benefits an education brings. Thank you for your generousity and support. 

(C) 2021 Photos courtesy of Vipul Sangoi. 

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Dear friends,

Hiramani is all of 9 years old. She is the daughter of agricultural labourers who sometimes must migrate in order to find work.

Before starting school at the Kaliyachak Girls School, Hiramani used to help her parents in their work. Until last year, Hiramani was one of the 45 million out-of-school children in India. That changed last year when she began attending the community school regularly, 6 days a week.

Now, Hiramani studies math, science, social studies as well as Hindi and English. She can now read basic Hindi and English, including the newspaper. She enjoys reading books and playing with other girls from the community.  She also loves a good game of Carom. She has decided that she wants to pursue her education at least till the 10th grade.

Today, young girls like Hiramani depend on all-girl, community schools to access even the most basic education, a right that every child has but is too often denied.

With your advocacy and support for girls' education, we can continue to enroll girls like Hiramani in the Kaliyachak Girls School.  And we can continue to expand the educational program to include mid-day meals, sports, extra-curricula in arts and storytelling as well as vocational training for the older students. 

This Giving Tuesday, we hope you will continue your support for the Kaliyachak Girls School -- and the girls, like Hiramani, who deserve an education.

Thank you for your support. 

Best,

Priya Krishnamoorthy

Photo credit: Vipul Sangoi (c) 2020

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• FORRAD