As you read the story of Asha (name changed) below, it will give you a glimpse of the areas of intervention and strengths.
It isn’t a secret that whole generations of girls are living without dignity, missing out on an education, a career, and livelihood simply because of a lack of these basic human rights.
But for one girl today, that is about to change! Today will be a turning point in her life.
It is Graduation Day! At 16 years of age Asha will finally be draped in a simple yet elegant saree, and in front of the entire school receive awards for General proficiency, Leadership & Commitment and for being Best Captain for the year 2014 – 15. Her parents will be around to watch this proud moment and her classmates to cheer her.
The journey has not been an easy one. The years gone by have had its share of poverty, health issues, and no one else to lean on but her family. She’s the third child of four siblings. Living in a remote place where they have erratic supply of electricity, her home is an enclosure spread over 250 sq. ft. – a kitchen, bathroom and some extra space, no privacy whatsoever but this hasn’t been a deterrent as no hurdle has stopped Asha from progressing forward. She has shown that it doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters what you do with what you have.
Asha’s parents are labourers and work at a construction site during the day and as watchman during the night taking care of someone else’s property. They have worked hard to provide for the family. Unlike many homes, amongst her family there is good unity and this has always been her support and pillar of strength. They have always motivated her to do her best and this has made Asha what she is today.
A peek into a day in Asha’s life portrays a similar picture in many of the girls’ lives who study at YuvaLok.
Asha wakes up when the sun hasn’t risen and the night is just waning – 5:00am. No alarm clock to snooze and no one to call her name in case she wants to sleep in. At this early hour her job is to bring home heavy pots of water after waiting in line at the community tap nearby.
By 6.00am she sits to study for an hour before she helps her mother with some domestic chores along with her sister. She is fortunate to have breakfast which may not be nutritious but enough to settle the hunger inside.
7:45am she gets ready for school and she has to walk a long distance before she gets a bus to reach YuvaLok School.
By 8:45 she is in school and being a leader she is a role model, someone the other children look up to. She is never late and is always doing her best. She fulfills her duties at the morning assembly. She enjoys her day in school with friends and teachers. She loves her morning “9 grain” nutritious porridge and also looks forward to her afternoon lunch provided by the school.
Quoting her she says, “Because the school provides us our morning porridge and mid-day meal, many children like me, are happy our food is taken care of”. After spending an attentive day in class, Asha heads straight home.
She leaves school at 3:15pm and reaches her home by 5pm. After a small break she has work to do. She again needs to fetch water along with her sister and get the dinner ready before she can sit with her studies.
As she is a girl child she cannot socialize with neighbors, there are no toys or X-boxes to keep her occupied or give her a little distraction. She has no money to just hang out with her friends. But she is content in her own little world. Another day is gone by and tomorrow will be the same.
Asha is one girl in a million. Many of them have to face the same or even worse scenarios day after day. YuvaLok plays a role in not only aiding the poor and destitute, but are implementing important development programs to ensure that this cycle of extreme poverty ends here. We believe that education is one big tool we can provide students like Asha to break this generational poverty and its damaging power and liberating them from its consequences.