Prevent Child Marriage, Educate 270 Girls in India

Anusuya is one of those students of Sandipani Muni School who has been with us since the very beginning when the school had just started in the year 2002.  She is now 20 years old and studies in her 3^rd year of GLA college doing Bachelors in Technology. Very soon she will be a graduate and qualified for a decent job!  Nothing can make the school more proud and happy to see a young girl who was loitering on the streets in tatters 13 years back and is now an educated, independent woman. She came from a family of 3 brothers and 1 sister where her father was a laborer earning a meager income and there was no way he could raise his five children specially the two daughters would have been married off few years back had they not got a chance to go to Sandipani Muni School. Their life changed completely at that very moment.

Read on to know what Anusuya has to tell us:

When and how did you join SMS and how old were you?

I joined in the year 2002,  at that time I was 8 years old. I came to know about SMS where some students were getting tuitions and prasadam. It was a very small room and there were about 15-20 kids attending classes. Some girls were younger to me, some were of my age and some were older. There were two ladies who were taking the classes.  I joined in 3^rd grade then started teaching the kids because the teacher thought I was really good. She then got me and my sister admitted. We were so happy to be in school and really liked the tasty prasadam everyday. Soon I had many friends to play with.

How was your life before you joined Sandipani Muni School?

 We did not have much to eat and wear. We lived in a village near Vrindavan and my father did not have a job at that time so there was no question of us going to school.  SMS was very far from our house so we had to walk to school everyday. Soon my father found a job and we could save some money and moved to a place nearer to the school which made our lives a little easier. We could go to the school in the evening to eat Kitchri.

How has this program changed the lives of yours and so many other girls living in Vrindavan?

I and my sister never thought we could go to school but when we learnt that education was free my family allowed to attend classes. Many children in the neighborhood were also excited to join the school. Suddenly there was a ray of hope in the middle of darkness. I still remember the excitement in their eyes.

At the time of completing your 12^th grade, how many kids you knew were with you right from the beginning when SMS started and how many left?

When I competed 12^th grade there were 8 kids were from the same batch as me. I was lucky to have completed my school and unfortunately there were about  5-6 girls from that batch who got married at the age of 15-16.

What would you say now after so many years with SMS?

(Teary eyed) I am grateful to Rupa prabhu and Nikunja mataji who helped girls like me to go to school when there was no hope. I would like to give back to this school as a teacher or a sponsor some day.

What message would you like to give to the students who are now in Sandipani Muni School?

I would like to tell them to please study hard and do not think about marriage and study for as long as you can and like the school helped us we should help them back by standing on our own feet and becoming independent.