Success Stories
Girls’ Education Program
Room to Read Nepal Vol I. Jan 2015- Mar 2015
Dream Big!
She worked so hard that her hand and feet cracked and bled. She cried in silence but always smiled when she visited her father’s home. She wore socks to hide her cracked feet. “My father would have broken down had he seen me in such a state,” Kamala says.
“I
f you have dreamt of something, you must work hard and struggle to achieve that. Success without struggle is not worth it”.
Kamala often says this to her Girls’ Education Program scholars when they are demotivated. She shares about her struggles and how she made it to where she is now. After completing seventh grade, the landowner of the farm, where her father worked, offered to provide her with further education, provided Kamala paid for it by working in his home. His father could not say no since he knew how much Kamala wanted to study and his economic condition didn’t allow him to support his daughter’s education. Her dreams shattered as soon as she started working as a Kamalari (a bonded labor). Her day started at 3 am and ended at midnight. The landlord kept his promise but did not give the time to study. The household chores instead of school work demanded her attention. The landlord shouted at her for not completing it. But this did not stop her from studying. She finished her homework during free hours at school.
Three years passed by in the landlord’s house yet she continued her days the same way. Despite all these difficulties, Kamala finished the ninth grade. “I utilized every spare second to study,” she says. Although she had good grades in her studies, she could not handle it anymore and ran away. “I was getting weak, mentally. I hated everything and everyone around me. At times, I even felt like ending my life,” she adds. But, when she heard the rumors that her landlord had created after she ran away, it was beyond her patience. He accused that she stole the money and eloped. Finally, she took out all the rage and fought back. “I realised silence was not an option. The more you remain silent, the more people will suppress you,” she says. After she went to her parents’ home, Kamala lived a normal life. She thought she would never go back to school again. But a year later, she was enrolled in the Girls’ Education Program in Grade 10. “I was overjoyed to go back to school after a year’s absence. Since then, I have never missed school,” she says.
“If you have dreamt
of something, you must work hard to achieve it”
Kamala passed her School Leaving Certificate examination (Grade 10) with good grades. She started volunteering in the Freed Kamalari Development Forum and was appointed as President for Bardiya district. Since then, she had been advocating for anti- Kamalari movement through various programs and campaigns. Currently, she is a second year undergraduate student, studying Health and also working as a social mobilizer in Room to Read Nepal. “I want to pass the skills I have gained from Room to Read’s training onto my scholars. These skills will be with me forever and I will always be grateful for it”, she says.
Accepting the change
“I
had never expected my life to be like this,” says Ashi. Her life changed when her mother passed away. The ferocity in which she lived her life changed drastically.
She was always in rush; moving from one activity to another. After her mother passed away, her life came to standstill. The house became an empty space where her father, her sister and she shared. Despite of a thin wall that divided their rooms, they hardly talked with each other. It was like living with the strangers. They were engulfed in silence. Ashi’s loneliness was eating her up. She cared less about everything, let alone her studies. She hated her friends and the world around her. Her attendance in classroom plummeted. She was nearly on the verge dropping out of school. Despite of all this, she gravitated towards the life skills class. “I shared my problems with my mentor who is like a big sister to me. She encouraged and motivated me to stay in the school,” says Ashi. The life skills session helped Ashi to overcome her loneliness. After attending the session continuously, she realized the mistake she was about to commit. Dropping her classes will harm no one but herself and her future. She started attending school regularly. She made daily routines and strictly followed them. She says, “I work very hard to put my life in order. I made it a point to finish all my works ranging from my household chores to school assignments in time. I also participated in extracurricular activities. My life has become organized now.” Ashi is pushing her limits to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. Her grades are slowly improving. Her mentor, Sakina Chaudhary, is excited to Ashi’s gradual improvements. “The life skills session changed her behavior and her perception towards life. We were really disappointed then and worked very hard to motivate her in every possible ways,” she says. “Now we are very proud to see this change,” she adds. “This part of my life is much easier than what I had been through before. I am motivated to change my life for the better,” Ashi says.
Pic: Ashi doing her household chores
“I am motivated to change my life for the better�
Pic: Ashi in life skills session class
Pic: Ashi with her friends going to school
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