Help Bring 121,000 Girl Children Back to School

58 girl children who were out of school, have been re-enrolled and can now go onto achieving their dreams.

Child marriage is a reality for many young girls in India. Just like Julie (Name changed), hailing from Bansipur, a small village in Bihar.

In Julie’s village, child marriage is not just a practice but a norm. Due to this, she was forced to drop out of school in the 9^th grade. Julie requested her parents to call off the marriage and send her back to school, so that she could fulfill her dreams of becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, this was perceived as rebellion by her family and the villagers. When all hope seemed lost, CRY’s on ground partner who works in that area, stepped in.

The project team worked tirelessly and with great determination to gain the trust of Julie’s family. By discussing the legal implications of child marriage with them and the emotional consequences on Julie – they slowly but surely began to change mindsets. Eventually after considerable time and effort, her parents consented to getting Julie back to school. The wedding was called off, despite strong objections from the villagers.

Julie now is the only college going student in Bansipur and her mother is her biggest supporter. She has become a trendsetter and an inspiration to many children in the village, especially young girls.

YOUR support to global giving has been successful in creating similar stories of hope.

Some of the work that this support has enabled:

• Girls have been motivated to continue to come to school – Often girls in our intervention areas are first time learners and do not receive encouragement and motivation from their families to come to school.
• Schools have proper infrastructure – absence of basic things like safe water, proper toilets, black boards, books, playgrounds and even adequate teachers often act as a deterrent for children to continue their education. Especially for girls, something as simple as the absence of toilets can go a long way towards dropping out, once they hit puberty.
• Girls do not suffer from gender discrimination and child marriage – Marrying off girls at an young age – is still the norm in many communities and by stopping this, we can ensure they continue to go to school.
• Communities, families and children are sensitized on the necessity of education – Often children  - especially girls lose touch with education simply because of lack of awareness. 

Thank you,

Best Regards,

Alaknanda 

Your support to our campaign Help Bring 121,000 Girl children back to school, has strengthened our focus in the project areas where the girl children were identified. The campaign is designed to fundraise for marginalised girl children from the most deprived sections of India.

A life without education is not something many of us can even contemplate. Unfortunately, this remains a reality for many girls in India. For a host of different reasons, girls across the country are forced to drop out of school.

You have made a difference by donating to CRY. With your help and countinued support, we are sure that 121,000 girl children across CRY-supported projects will complete their education. And lead the life they deserve.

Julie (name changed)

In the entire village of Bansipur (Munger, Bihar), there is only one college-goer. Her name is Julie Kumari.

If that fact has surprised you, what will add to it is that this is a village of 'Musahars' or rat catchers, and the college is situated at a distance of two hours from the village.

And there's more to come.

Julie was studying in Class IX when her parents decided to marry her off...and this was the norm in the village. But she was busy dreaming of becoming a doctor, and nothing else could come in the way. Such resistance was unheard of in this extremely poor and backward village of Bihar. And Julie knew, it would be difficult for her to fight the battle alone.

CRY supported project DishaVihar, had, in the meanwhile, initiated a children's group in the village called the Munna - MunniManch. They extended support by getting the staff of DishaVihar involved. A series of discussions followed, and the wedding was finally called off.

Julie was not prepared for what followed. All her relatives and the entire village demanded answers from her parents as to why they went against the tide. The person who single handedly answered every question, and faced every hindrance was Julie's mother. Herself an ASHA worker today, Julie's mother had studied till class X before she was married off. She stood like a pillar for Julie and ensured that Julie not only completed her Higher Secondary but also went to college.

As her brother today accompanies her to college every day because it's a long way from her house, he is helping her move closer to her dream of becoming a doctor. Because she had dared to dream, today her two other sisters are also continuing with their studies. While one of them is in class IX, the other is in class VII.

Julie has a list of firsts against her name today. It all started because she dared to dream. It was possible because her mother believed in her dream. It was possible because of people like you supported her dream !

Your support to girl children like Julie can help many such dreams pursued.

Thank you

Prithvi

Links:

• read Nita's story