The Blossom Bus: Help Rural Girls Get To School!

To date, Blossom Bus has served a total of 797 students. In the 2018-2019-year, Blossom Bus served 328 individuals from 15 different villages. Within those numbers, 40 of the students are enrolled in college and 7 are enrolled in master’s programs. Below is a field report about Babita and Savita, sisters who are preparing to become police women.

We met Babita and Savita on the 5^th of January 2019 at their house in Bhanguri village. The Blossom Bus served them in their undergraduate degrees and is now serving them as they complete a Law Enforcement master’s degree in Palwal. They will graduate in 2019 and are very happy to be the first in their village with master’s degree.

Savita and Babita are both smart while Savita is outgoing and Babita is a bit shy. I asked them “why are you so serious about your studies when most of the people in villages think that there is no use of education as there are no jobs available after graduation?” to which Savita very promptly replied "jobs are available, and we have to become qualified to grab them. How can we expect to get a job when we are not qualified for one” she said.

Their father Birbal told us that both Babita and Savita have completed the written examination conducted by Haryana Police and he is hopeful that both his daughters shall become Police Women soon. They are also preparing for exams for a job with the Delhi Police. Birbal works as a casual labor at a small toy factory in Palwal and gets a meager salary but he is determined to get his daughters educated. Birbal told us that he is supporting his daughters in every possible way and accompanying them to the examination centers or any department for tests and job interviews.

Birbal stated that this dream for his daughters became a reality with the Blossom Bus. He said that he was not capable of spending thousands of rupees on his daughters travel to college every month. “My daughters could not have reached here without the Blossom Bus. The day my daughters will get a job, I will first invite Lotus Outreach for a big THANK YOU. You made it possible even to have a DREAM” Birbal exclaimed with immense gratitude.

Mamta, who joined Blossom Bus this year, was one year old when her father died in 2003. He left behind five children including Mamta, and his wife, Wati. Without him, their family was left with no income. Mamta's mother refused to give up and worked hard as a laborer in the fields and enabled their family to survive on the small amount she was getting as widow pension from government. She raised her children and sent them all to the village school. Her two elder daughters could not go to school after grade five and eight as the school in the village only went up to grade eight. The two daughters were then married and the third one dropped out after passing grade eight in the village school. The son made it to grade ten but has left school since as he cannot afford to travel to the nearby village due lack of transport. Mamta is the youngest and wanted to study so that she could find a job that could help her ageing mother.

Mamta was told by her friend that there was a bus available for poor families that provided free transportation to and from school. Mamta’s mother approached the school at Ahrawan and inquired about the bus. She met with the teachers and they assured that the Blossom Bus would have room for Mamta, especially given their families situation. Soon after, Mamta started riding the Blossom Bus and enrolled in grade nine in the girls’ school. So far, she really enjoys her studies and is hoping to complete her education and become the only earning member of the family so that her mother can live in peace.

The family is still living in acute poverty surviving on about $50 a month with Wati’s pension. Recently their roof collapsed, and they are worried about the approaching winter. However, Wati is a courageous woman. She smiles and says that she is happy that her daughter could complete her studies and become a respected person in society especially because they belong to lower caste. She says that her daughter could be married into a good family if she completes her education because uneducated brides have no scope for marriage in good families these days. The mother thanked Lotus Outreach and gave blessings to Blossom Bus for this great help she needed the most.