" I was very shy, and my speaking lacked confidence. However, my stint as a teacher at Pratham transformed me positively, and now I can handle a team."
Mamta Aahirwar is from Taraisewaniya village near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. After marriage, she shifted to Bhopal and now works at the Post Office. When we met her at her house in Bhopal, she shared her story with us beginning from her life before marriage followed by her joining Pratham, and ending with her growth in the current job. "I was the only girl in the village to go to school and study till graduation", she begins. "My family encouraged me to study further till 12th grade." Her qualification helped her to get selected as a faculty for Pratham's Second Chance program, a platform that gives another opportunity for girls and women who have dropped out of school to complete their 10th-grade studies. "Santosh Sir had come to our village, and he gave me the opportunity to work as a faculty", she says with a smile.
She had two responsibilities before the start of classes - identifying girls in the assigned villages who wished to complete education till 10th grade, and, more importantly, convince their parents! Likewise, she paid a visit to many households and tried to create awareness about the program and also preached the importance of completing education till 10th grade. However, there were constraints! "The parents were not ready to send their girls to school again", she recalls. "It was in 2013, but not there is a change in the attitude of villagers."
"How did it change?"
"I pointed out that after completing 10th grade, your daughter can work somewhere and earn money for the family. Once that happens, they won't be a burden on the family", she recalls. This point, she says, was very well received but not by all of them. She then started with those families who were convinced and soon the batch for that academic year was rolled out. Many of those girls and women had forgotten what they had learned in school. Hence it was necessary to begin by strengthening their fundamentals. However, all of them had one motto in mind - I will complete my 10th grade and work somewhere to become economically independent.
"I am happy that all of them passed with good results. Many of them got a job, and some of them also opted to study till 12th grade." The girls were motivated to get a job, and soon they set an example for more girls to join and aim for economic independence. Their parents now had become more aware and were convinced to send their daughter/wife to the classroom again! "In my next year, I had to convince less number of people as some parents immediately agreed to send their daughter to our classes", she says.
In 2016, Mamta had to leave this job and shift to Bhopal with her husband. "Leaving this job was not easy, but because of my work experience and my educational qualification I got a job at the Post Office", she narrates. "I must thank the job at Pratham and the frequent training I underwent. It increased my confidence, and I could talk to people and fearlessly express my views. My job interview went very well, and with the confidence in me, I managed to secure a promotion within a year. I am now a Branch Manager", she smiles, with a twinkle in her eyes.
Mamta is well settled at Bhopal, and eyes further promotion and growth at her workplace. Her journey from being the only girl in the village to complete graduation, to confident Branch manager at the Post Office is astonishing, to say the least. Pratham's Madhya Pradesh state team is happy that her stint as a faculty at the 'Second Chance' Program was a significant transition in her life.
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