In a span of twenty five minutes, we saw a large
number of rice fields, crossed over a railway track, encountered cows and
buffaloes on the road and experienced a dusty patch due to a road under
construction! This was our third day in Chhattisgarh and it started from the
village of Masturi to an even smaller village of Eramsahi. We were here to
witness some amazing action from the ‘Second Chance’ Program. Noor, the coordinator for the Program in
Chhattisgarh and Baliram, the Center in-charge at Masturi were with us.
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| Ahilya Kumari, Anjani Kumari and Rajin Kumari with the Borewell |
We had a brief interaction with some of these girls
at the ‘Masturi’ Center. Their whole-hearted participation in the Hindi lecture
was enough to bring a smile on our face.
As they greeted me ‘Good Morning Sir’ with a smile on their face and a
confident eye-contact, I was convinced that these girls have come here with a
resolve! A resolve to make the most of the ‘Second Chance’ life had given them!
However there was an additional reason why we had chosen to visit the ‘Second Chance’ Program that day. This Program includes a ‘Life Skills’ component in its syllabus. It ensures that students learn some fundamental skills which help them face real life situations. The girls here were asked to identify a particular problem in their village and try to come up with its solution. We were to speak to these girls who had collectively addressed such a problem and thereby created a positive impact!
A small child ran with one of our motorbikes till a
small building and we were greeted with curious eyes peeping out from the
little huts. The Center at Eramsahi had arrived. As we entered the class, an
intense session of arithmetic was underway. The enthusiasm of the girls
participating and interacting with the tutor rendered the small size of the
class a useless factor! As the girls sat cross-legged on the floor, I was
reminded of my own school where we had the luxury of wooden benches and open
windows. Many of these girls, as they
told us, walk from nearby villages to this center. They were indeed a perfect example of
determination overcoming physical hardships! The girls at this center come from
Hardadi, Malhar and Navagaon villages. In addition to them, some girls are from
Eramsahi.
The girls were happy to see Noor but were surprised
to see the two of us. Hence during the introduction most of them maintained a
studied silence as they heard us talk. Most of them nodded their heads in
agreement to whatever we said. But when we asked them about the work they did
in the village, their eyes lit up! We asked them to reassemble and sit
according to the villages they represented. Soon we had four groups of girls,
each from Navagaon, Malhar, Eramsahi and Hardadi.
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| The students from the four villages at the Eramsahi Cluster |
“In our village, there was a water problem. The
women in the village had to walk a great distance to fetch water. So we
insisted to the Sarpanch that our village should have a borewell”, said Ahilya
Kumari, an enthusiastic girl from the Navagaon village. “However the elders in
the village asked us why we were getting into all this. Our elder brothers felt
we were wasting time”, said Anjani Kumari from the same village. “We had to
visit the village Sarpanch many times during this period. Finally he agreed and
we now have a Borewell in our village”, she further added. Both these girls had
in a way represented the psyche of the society that we live in! By now all the
girls had opened up and started to talk to us.
“We will be very happy if you come to our village
and see the borewell”, Anjani requested us. Navagaon was not very far from the
place and hence we acceded to her request. This was followed by a 25 minute
bike ride from Eramsahi to Navagaon. Small huts and narrowed roads greeted us
to Navagaon and we could see curious onlookers wondering about us, the new
entrants to their premises. We were then escorted to a lake and then to the
borewell that was installed because of the efforts of these girls! The joy on
their faces when they said ‘Yeh hamne kiya hain’ (we have done this) was
priceless! “Abhi hamare yahan ke mahilayon ko dusre gaav mein paani lane nahi
jaana padega”, (Now the women here won’t have to go to any other village to
fetch water) they added.
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| Students in rapt attention in the Hindi lecture at the Masturi HUB Center |
However we were headed towards a surprise! Ahilya’s
house was very near to the lake and she insisted that we should visit her house
and meet her parents. And in the next instance we found ourselves entering a
small hut with happy faces of her parents welcoming us inside. “Hame bahut
accha lagta hain, hamari beti padh rahi hain aur usne yeh kaam kiya hain” (We
all feel very good that our daughter is learning again and she has done this
work), said her parents with satisfaction! All the three girls are now charged
up to do something more for the village. They now want to build a school in the
village that offers education till the 12th grade. By this, they
say, children won’t have to walk long distances to any other village for school!
As we were ready to leave Ahilya’s house, Noor
suggested that we all should go and meet the village Sarpanch and ask him how
he felt working with these girls. We happily agreed and insisted that the girls
should also accompany us to his house. And in the matter of ten minutes we
found ourselves facing the Sarpanch of the village. He greeted all of us, but
an expression of surprise was visible on his face. Finally when we introduced
ourselves and started talking about this project, he also became a part of the
conversation.
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| The three girls with the Village Sarpanch |
“ Bahut accha lag raha hain, ke koi hamare saamne apni samasya
lekar aaya, aur yeh bhi accha laga ki yeh ladkiyan gaav ke liye kuch karna
chahti hain” ( I felt very good, that someone came to me with their problem and
I felt better that these young girls want
to do something for our village). There was a smile on the faces of the girls
as he said this. One of us asked him if he would help these girls if they come
with some other problem, he said, “kyon nahi! Hame gaavwalon ne sarpanch banaya
hain, kuch karne ke liye. Aur inke saath toh main jaroor kaam karunga!” (Why
not! The villagers have made me a Sarpanch so that I can work for them. And I
will definitely work with these girls.)
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| The three girls with Ahilya's parents |
Our visit to Masturi, Eramsahi and Navagaon villages
connected us to a rural India that is full of aspirations! But what delighted
us more was the participation of girls in this entire process of aspirations
getting developed! That they are getting a ‘Second Chance’ to complete their
education doubles this delight. This program has made these girls more
confident. They want their voice to be heard, their needs to be addressed and
more importantly, their education to be continued!
If we visit Navagaon again, we hope to see these
girls studying in the same school that they want to
be built in their village.
And with the facilities going beyond the 12th Grade! This day in
that small village in Chhattisgarh will be memorable for me for two reasons!
One - I saw how education helps an individual, otherwise suppressed and under-confident,
find an expression! And two - all three of them were girls who now have found their
voice, amidst the rural Indian background that is still largely dominated by
males.
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