17-year-old Shirisha from Telangana had to move from one house to another after the death of her parents. Her relatives would shrug off her responsibility and eventually send her to an orphanage. With no one to support her education, she dropped out of school in 8th Grade. The uncertainty in her life caused her a lot of grief. She realised that she needs to find a way to complete her education if she wants to have a better future. This was when she met one of the mobilizers from Pratham’s Second Chance program. She enrolled herself in the batch of 2017-18 and began a journey, this time, on her terms.
Her initial anxiety and fear of not doing well created a lot of obstacles in class. With time she found friends and confidants in her classmates and teachers. She started to open up and ask any doubts or questions she had in mind. She participated in all the activities with great enthusiasm, and everyone at the centre became her family.
This optimism helped Shirisha explore her own likes and dislikes. She loves to design clothes and play around with patterns. In her free time, she tries her hand at tailoring as well.
Shirisha always wanted to serve people in some way. She aspires to be a nurse after completing her studies. She passed 10th Grade and scored 6 points out of 10. As she learnt to take decisions on her own at a very young age, this success has only added to her confidence to take up more significant challenges in life.
Shirisha is one of the 529 girls who were a part of Pratham's 'Second Chance' Program in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh this year. With 315 of them passing their 10th-grade, the pass percentage of the States stands at 60%.
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