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Taking education at the doorstep of girls: Education@YourDoorstep Campaign
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April & May were dedicated to educating girls who were deprived of education by their parents due to social factors, in villages around Dehradun. Our Education@YourDoorstep campaign got into full steam with 5 full time teachers and three centers in different villages at a time. These are bright girls, with big dreams in their eyes, but deprived of education. Most of them were allowed to study only upto Class 8. We teach them Spoken English & Basic Computers, in their own village, more to instill a sense of self confidence in them and also to use these classes as an opening into meeting their families and trying to influence their attitude towards girls.
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In two centers, Mehuwala & Kabadi Basti (the first & second pictures above), the girls completed their 2 months course and were awarded certificates, while 3 new centers were opened in Telpur village, Mehuwala Mafi & Ghisarpadi Villages, with around 15 girls in each.
During the 2 months course, the girls are assessed at 15 days intervals in an informal test (picture below is that of a test being conducted) and the final examination takes place at the end of 2 months.
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The two pictures above are during the inauguration of two such centers, with free books being distributed to the students.
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The thing which stood out the most in almost all the centers, is that girls were hardly allowed to leave their villages. What shocked us most was that many girls had never ever visited a post office. The picture above is that of an outing of some of these girls.... to a Post Office !!
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The best gift, they say, if you can give, is that of Education !
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Outreach programs are very important for us, because they link us with local communities and over a period of time, build a bond of trust between us. In the last two months, we went to Johri village (above ) and Chamanpuri Basti (below). During the meeting, we not only sensitize them on gender issues but also distribute our Women's Helpline Number (9760371958) and tell them about our shelter which is always open for anyone in distress.
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Message from the Secretary
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Dear Everyone,
Warm wishes from all of us in Saheli. Let me begin by thanking each and everyone, who is reading this newsletter, because YOU have contributed substantially, in your own way, in making Saheli what it is today, a friend of girls and women in distress.
Besides the activities listed above, the children in our shelter also finished their end term exams and are now on Summer vacations. All the children are doing well in their studies, coming first or second in their classes. Next month everyone will be going on an 18 hour train journey to attend a wedding in Allahabad, for ten days. For most of the children, this will be the first train journey of their lives and are really excited about it.
We aim to teach 300 deprived girls English & Computers under the E@YD project. Besides the salaries of 5 teachers (which is a substantial sum) we also need books and copies. Each set, consisting of an English & Computer books and 2 copies) costs around INR 500 ( $7.7 / £ 5.99) .. We have so far raised INR 50,000 ( $ 776.99 / £ 599.4) for books for 100 students and need to raise another INR 1,00,000 ( $1,554 / £ 1,198.8 ) for the remaining 200 students, till March 2018. If you'd like to help us buy books, please let me know by replying to this email.
Finally, as I always say, we would love to have your feedback, both negative and positive, because that is what helps us grow. Please do not hesitate to comment, all you need to do is to reply to this email. Your words mean a lot to us, so please don't hesitate.
And the invitation to visit our shelter is there for everyone. Please do spare some time and come and feel the spirit of Saheli.
With regards,
Shruti Kaushik,
Secretary, Saheli
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