Age no bar for learning

Rashmi Yadav is the glaring example of the statement that age is no bar for learning! She hails from Bhedia Navagaon, a village in the Durg district of Chhattisgarh. Now 40, it has been 23 long years since she dropped out of school. She completed her primary school studies at a school in Biretara which was 2 km from her village and followed it by enrolling in a school at Piparchhedi for her secondary school. Despite the school being 5 km from her village, she displayed a regular attendance, and her mode of transport to school was her bicycle. But she was dejected when she could not clear the 10th grade, and it made her quit school. 

Four years later, at 22, Rashmi got married, but unfortunately, her marriage did not last through. Her husband divorced her, and she had to leave the house with her son who was only one year old. But her miseries did not end there! When she left her husband’s home, she got the much-needed support of her parents. However, after a few years, they too passed away, and Rashmi approached her elder brother. Her brother arranged for her accommodation at a one bedroom flat close to his house and thus began her life’s second innings. Her son is 11 years old now and studies in 6^th grade. As he grew up, she realised that she was unable to help him in his studies. Soon this realisation turned into frustration and helplessness, and it seemed apparent that she would never be able to help him.  However, a ray of hope entered her life when she met Devashri and Ekta, and they informed her about Pratham’s Second Chance Program. “Both of them were the alumni of the Program, and I found their suggestion valuable”, she said. After some initial hiccups, discussions and consultations, she enrolled herself as a student at the Bhedia Navagaon cluster. Rashmi Yadav was a student again – after 23 years!

"The Life Skills sessions encouraged me to open up, and it is because of them that I can speak to you today", she recalls. These sessions are an integral part of the Second Chance Program, and they helped her get motivated. When we speak to her today, her eye-contact, body language and expressions indicate that there has been a huge change in her. However, her most memorable moment in class was learning from the tablet. "I had never used a mobile phone till I came here and hence learning from the tablet was not only new for me but also was unbelievable", she says with a smile. But her classmates helped her, and soon she knew how to operate it. "Today I can see the videos; I can click photos and very soon I will also learn to operate a mobile phone", she says with a confident tone. 

Rashmi appeared for the 10th-grade examination this year and is eagerly waiting for the results. Not only she is confident of a good performance, but she has also attended the employment awareness session to explore work opportunities after 10th grade. "I want to study more and become self-dependent and progress in life", she says.