Laxmi Gurjar lives at Simrol, a small village on the Mhow-Indore highway, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. She is one of the many beneficiaries of our 'Second Chance' Program in the Mhow block of Indore District and like many of them has a unique story to share! Before she heard of our program, she was an ASHA worker in her village.
"My father was an agricultural labourer. There was no guarantee of a fixed job or a fixed income. Though I did not complete my education until 8th grade, there was no scope for higher studies. Our financial condition was one reason. The other reason was the social custom prevalent in our village where girls were married at an early age", she begins her story. As she continues, we realise that she did some small-scale jobs after she dropped out of school and continued with them after her marriage. She also worked as a farm labourer and then from the money earned, she bought a sewing machine and took up those assignments as well. It was a decent support to a family of five - she, her husband and their three children. "I was happy with what life was offering me", she says. But I still felt incomplete. The feeling of not completing education persisted.
"But I felt that thinking about this is useless as I had lost this opportunity long back when I was young", she admits. And then she came to know about Pratham's Second Chance Program from one of the girls in the nearby village, who after some years of a gap in her studies, had completed her 10th grade. However, initial excitement gave way to anxiety and worry. "Will I be able to resume my studies after this huge gap? How will I study with girls almost half my age? Will they accommodate me?" She also admits that the thought that immediately came to her mind after this mix of excitement and anxiety was of a promotion at her workplace. And this was the motivation that made Laxmi a student again, after a gap of twenty years!
Then we talked about her experience in class with teachers and fellow students. "Every girl in our class had a story to share. Some girls had dropped out of school after a gap of two years, whereas some of them had a gap of a longer duration. Some of them had a backing of their family members, while some others took it as a challenge with practically no support from anywhere! However, I was the eldest of them all, and hence many of them looked up to me for advice." As the conversation moves ahead, we visualise the classroom of a Second Chance Program. It is a place where Individual stories, struggles, dreams, aspirations, pains are weaved into one common thread and objective - completing 10th grade! A special bond develops between these girls and women, and it holds them together till their examinations. "Though we are of different age and background, we become friends once inside the classroom", she chips in.
Laxmi is also grateful to the faculty of this program. It was difficult for someone like her who entered the classroom after almost two decades and hence had to start from the basics. She had lost touch with all what she had grasped as a child."I am thankful to the teachers here as they were patient with people like me who took time to understand. However, learning in a group was an extraordinary experience! We became more familiar with each other as we studied and interacted in a group and this made many of us confident and helped us understand things better", she says.
With this positivity in mind, Laxmi appeared for her 10th-grade examination and cleared it in 2015. Her efforts bore fruits as she got promoted at her workplace and is now an ASHA supervisor, with 12 villages under her supervision. The smile on her face as she completes the narration of her story is a testimony to the success that she achieved after her struggle. Does it mean that her life is now complete? She says yes, but after a few seconds quickly adds that now she wants to complete her 12th grade. Her husband - who is sitting beside her as she narrates this story - smiles when she acknowledges his valuable support and encouragement. Together they have educated their three children. Laxmi's eldest son is a professor in a college whereas her younger son works at Inox. Her daughter has completed her D.Ed and is a school teacher.
As we leave her house and wish her all the best, she says, "Now as I supervise over 12 villages, I come in contact with girls and women in these villages. Many of them have a similar story. I talk to them about the Second Chance Program and try to motivate them to complete their education." Laxmi will now become a catalyst for educational change, and we hope that more and more girls and women around her will get motivated to complete their education and find back their voice which was lost due to a variety of circumstances and reasons.
"My father was an agricultural labourer. There was no guarantee of a fixed job or a fixed income. Though I did not complete my education until 8th grade, there was no scope for higher studies. Our financial condition was one reason. The other reason was the social custom prevalent in our village where girls were married at an early age", she begins her story. As she continues, we realise that she did some small-scale jobs after she dropped out of school and continued with them after her marriage. She also worked as a farm labourer and then from the money earned, she bought a sewing machine and took up those assignments as well. It was a decent support to a family of five - she, her husband and their three children. "I was happy with what life was offering me", she says. But I still felt incomplete. The feeling of not completing education persisted.
"But I felt that thinking about this is useless as I had lost this opportunity long back when I was young", she admits. And then she came to know about Pratham's Second Chance Program from one of the girls in the nearby village, who after some years of a gap in her studies, had completed her 10th grade. However, initial excitement gave way to anxiety and worry. "Will I be able to resume my studies after this huge gap? How will I study with girls almost half my age? Will they accommodate me?" She also admits that the thought that immediately came to her mind after this mix of excitement and anxiety was of a promotion at her workplace. And this was the motivation that made Laxmi a student again, after a gap of twenty years!
Then we talked about her experience in class with teachers and fellow students. "Every girl in our class had a story to share. Some girls had dropped out of school after a gap of two years, whereas some of them had a gap of a longer duration. Some of them had a backing of their family members, while some others took it as a challenge with practically no support from anywhere! However, I was the eldest of them all, and hence many of them looked up to me for advice." As the conversation moves ahead, we visualise the classroom of a Second Chance Program. It is a place where Individual stories, struggles, dreams, aspirations, pains are weaved into one common thread and objective - completing 10th grade! A special bond develops between these girls and women, and it holds them together till their examinations. "Though we are of different age and background, we become friends once inside the classroom", she chips in.
Laxmi is also grateful to the faculty of this program. It was difficult for someone like her who entered the classroom after almost two decades and hence had to start from the basics. She had lost touch with all what she had grasped as a child."I am thankful to the teachers here as they were patient with people like me who took time to understand. However, learning in a group was an extraordinary experience! We became more familiar with each other as we studied and interacted in a group and this made many of us confident and helped us understand things better", she says.
With this positivity in mind, Laxmi appeared for her 10th-grade examination and cleared it in 2015. Her efforts bore fruits as she got promoted at her workplace and is now an ASHA supervisor, with 12 villages under her supervision. The smile on her face as she completes the narration of her story is a testimony to the success that she achieved after her struggle. Does it mean that her life is now complete? She says yes, but after a few seconds quickly adds that now she wants to complete her 12th grade. Her husband - who is sitting beside her as she narrates this story - smiles when she acknowledges his valuable support and encouragement. Together they have educated their three children. Laxmi's eldest son is a professor in a college whereas her younger son works at Inox. Her daughter has completed her D.Ed and is a school teacher.
As we leave her house and wish her all the best, she says, "Now as I supervise over 12 villages, I come in contact with girls and women in these villages. Many of them have a similar story. I talk to them about the Second Chance Program and try to motivate them to complete their education." Laxmi will now become a catalyst for educational change, and we hope that more and more girls and women around her will get motivated to complete their education and find back their voice which was lost due to a variety of circumstances and reasons.
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