"We were a family of five sisters, and hence our parents' priority was to marry us as quickly as possible", Sunita begins her story as we ask about her journey with Pratham's Second Chance program. We are in her home at Kabirpur village in the Jajpur district of Odisha. "I had to discontinue my education and eventually got married", she recalls.
Sunita became busy with household chores and followed the typical routine of managing the house. But did she feel that she should have completed education, at least till 10th grade? "Yes, I had that feeling deep inside my mind, but as the years passed by, I lost hope that I could get back to studies. How can someone get back to school after so many years?" But like many women of Pratham's Second Chance program who get back to school after a long gap, she too experienced a decision-making moment.
"When my son experienced difficulties in his studies, I realised that I was unable to help him. It bothered me very much and that is where I thought I should get back to studies", she says. Around the same time, Pratham's team was in her village, and she became aware of the Second Chance Program. "I was delighted to know about this program. Some of my relatives used to taunt me for not have completed 10th-grade. I now could give them a perfect answer! Also, I wanted to help my son with his studies", she says with a smile.
But the entry to the program was not easy. Her family members and more importantly, her husband was not ready for this change in her life. Her relatives and in-laws felt that this was going to be a time-waster. And the most challenging thing was that she was getting back to studies after 16 long years! Yes, she dropped out of school in 1998 and enrolled herself for the program in 2014.
"In those days we had to travel to the centre and stay there for a week. My husband used to call me frequently, and he intended to trouble me and distract me. But I did not backtrack", she explains further. But there was something else that cheered her up and ensured that she was motivated to continue her studies and that were her batchmates!
"I made new friends, and my inspiration was seeing them study and work hard. As the class progressed, my confidence increased. The best part of my classroom was learning in groups. But for the first four to five months, I was shy to speak in public. However, our teacher asked me to share my learning with the class. It not only gave me the confidence to speak in public but also helped me memorise what I had read."
Sunita now helps her son with his studies. Not only this, his friends and children from the neighbourhood also seek her guidance. "People initially taunted me, but now they regret it and instead ask me for my advice", she ends the conversation describing the remarkable turnaround in her life.
Sunita became busy with household chores and followed the typical routine of managing the house. But did she feel that she should have completed education, at least till 10th grade? "Yes, I had that feeling deep inside my mind, but as the years passed by, I lost hope that I could get back to studies. How can someone get back to school after so many years?" But like many women of Pratham's Second Chance program who get back to school after a long gap, she too experienced a decision-making moment.
"When my son experienced difficulties in his studies, I realised that I was unable to help him. It bothered me very much and that is where I thought I should get back to studies", she says. Around the same time, Pratham's team was in her village, and she became aware of the Second Chance Program. "I was delighted to know about this program. Some of my relatives used to taunt me for not have completed 10th-grade. I now could give them a perfect answer! Also, I wanted to help my son with his studies", she says with a smile.
But the entry to the program was not easy. Her family members and more importantly, her husband was not ready for this change in her life. Her relatives and in-laws felt that this was going to be a time-waster. And the most challenging thing was that she was getting back to studies after 16 long years! Yes, she dropped out of school in 1998 and enrolled herself for the program in 2014.
"In those days we had to travel to the centre and stay there for a week. My husband used to call me frequently, and he intended to trouble me and distract me. But I did not backtrack", she explains further. But there was something else that cheered her up and ensured that she was motivated to continue her studies and that were her batchmates!
"I made new friends, and my inspiration was seeing them study and work hard. As the class progressed, my confidence increased. The best part of my classroom was learning in groups. But for the first four to five months, I was shy to speak in public. However, our teacher asked me to share my learning with the class. It not only gave me the confidence to speak in public but also helped me memorise what I had read."
Sunita now helps her son with his studies. Not only this, his friends and children from the neighbourhood also seek her guidance. "People initially taunted me, but now they regret it and instead ask me for my advice", she ends the conversation describing the remarkable turnaround in her life.
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