Words of Inspiration
Rubina Khatoon is a bright girl from one of the learning centers
sponsored by ING-Vysya. She was identified by our local team in
Mehmoodabad as we were planning to award our girls for their
outstanding performance.
When Mrs. Khatoon,, Rubina’s mother, came to know about our
visit, she came and spoke to us. She told us that her husband
died 10 years back and that she has no source of income. It was
impossible for her to even think of educating her 3 children
when she has barely anything to eat? She was ecstatic when she
heard about the opening of learning center in her village. She
also mentioned that she does not send her daughter to her
mother’s place because it would force Rubina to miss her
classes.
According to her Rubina has learnt a lot and she now
teaches her younger brothers at home too. Mrs. Khatoon is
illiterate and does not know how to read and write but her
daughter now does all the calculation work. Rubina keeps the
account of the money she earns from working in the fields. She
said ‘I thank ‘Allah’ everyday for setting up an IIMPACT
learning centre near my house.’ She said ‘My present is dark but
my future looks bright. I will not marry my daughter until she
is an under-graduate”. These words touched the hearts of all
those present.
Her hands were folded throughout and tears were rolling down her
cheeks. She thanked IIMPACT for changing the life of her
daughter.
Mr. Jayant Mehrotra promised “ ING will take care of Rubina’s
education till the time she wants to study. She can study in her
village till class X and then move to Lucknow for further
studies. Her boarding lodging, clothing, studies, books will all
be taken care of by ING.” Mrs. Khatoon’s tears continued to
flow, only this time these were tears of joy and hope.
Bhuteri – a girl with high aspirations
Bhuteri belongs to a very poor family, residents of village
Bandipura in Rajasthan. Bhuteri has the distinction of being
IIMPACT oldest girl, having passed out of class 5 in 2005. She
is now pursuing her studies and has completed class 9 in the
local government school
Her father, Kanhaiya Lal works as a mason and her mother, Gulab
Devi, is the treasurer of the Women’s Education Committee of the
village Her mother says that if it were not for IIMPACT all her
daughters would not have had access to education.
Bhuteri has 5 sisters and one brother who has studied upto class
12. At present Bhuteri’s sister Sona is also studying in the
Learning Centre and has appeared for the class v exam this year.
Bhuteri is full of dreams and has high aspirations. She is keen
to continue with her education and would like to work in the
city one day. All of us at IIMPACT will stand by her, helping
her on her way. We wish her all the best and are sure she will
make a mark in whatever she chooses to pursue.
A Visible Change
Mr. Anil Kripalani, President of the TiE San Diego Group and his
wife Vera visited the Mahak Learning centre at Alwar, (sponsored
by the group).
The elderly men of the community were present on the occasion
and there was some kind of apprehension from their side which
meant ‘No strangers allowed and no clicking photographs’.
Mrs. Tandon then spoke with the community, shared with them
information about IIMPACT as an organization, as to how it was
formed, the number of girls who are benefiting from the
programme in various states etc and how girls have passed from
our learning centers and are still continuing to study. The fact
that the centers have been set up for them and for their benefit
was reiterated. Then Mrs. Kripalani, an engineer from IIT, Delhi
also talked to the community members. She shared with them that
her father was not convinced about her pursuing engineering as
that was generally considered a ‘man’s domain’. It was however
her determination to study engineering that has brought her
where she is today.
These words had a deep impact on the community members. The
village Pradhan told us that he was very happy that the girls at
the IIMPACT centers are doing so well. His daughter studied in a
government school for 5 years and could not do simple
calculations. Here at the IIMPACT centre she has learnt so much
in 1 year and they did not have to pay a single cent. His son is
12th standard graduate but his daughter-in-law is illiterate
(which is making the things financially tough for the couple).
Now he has decided to send her to this IIMPACT learning center.
The elderly laid their hands on our head to bless Mrs. Tandon
and Mrs. Kripalani, and promptly showed us the place where the
community will build permanent structure for IIMPACT centre.
Ashma Bano – A Success Story
BAbu Sameedullaha and his wife Khaleekum would never have
dreamt that their daughter Ashma would ever go to school. Her
life and future had always promised to be bleak and dismal. Abu
had injured his hand in an unfortunate accident and is not
capable of working with his hands, leaving his family extremely
poor.
It was when IIMPACT set up its Learning Centre in their village
that its teacher Sabiha reached out to prospective students and
laid eyes on Ashma. This young girl had a unique problem – she
had been struck by polio in her early childhood. She could only
walk by dragging her feet, finding it challenging to travel any
distance. This did not deter Sabiha from approaching Ashma’s
parents and introducing them to the IIMPACT program. Ashma’s
parents were initially reluctant but finally agreed to send
their daughter to school.
Today, it is wonderful to see Ashma arrive at the centre before
anyone else on her wheelchair (pushed by her sister), which was
presented by a donor in order to enable her to travel to and
from the Learning Centre. She is a dedicated student who has the
distinction of not having missed a single day of school since
the very beginning.