Educate an Indian Child Experiencing Poverty

Steffi is a Grade 11 student from Christel House India – Bangalore. She recently shared with us why she feels Christel House is so instrumental in changing the lives of girls like her. “Not many girls near my house go to school,” she says, referencing the common practice in India of not educating girl children – rather raising them to take care of the house and work for the family. Teen girls like Steffi are also sometimes pulled out of school when they hit puberty or are married off young, so Steffi knows she is lucky.. “When my mom heard about [Christel House] she really wanted me to be in Christel House,” Steffi explains. On her first day at the school, Steffi says she wasn’t at all scared of the new experience, “I felt very happy seeing so many new things,” she shares. Many people in Steffi’s area don’t have sufficient food and so Christel House’s provision of 80% of the student’s daily nutrition needs is instrumental for their well-being. “Christel House is a place where you can be safe and be happy,” she concludes.  

Now, Steffi is a successful upper-classman and is building a bright future for herself. She hopes to become an astronaut, literally reaching for the stars. She credits Christel House with enabling her to learn and reach her goals: “The biggest challenge [they give us] at our school is to work hard and show people that even we poor can study and build our own dreams,” Steffi says. She is a great example of how Christel House works to break the cycle of poverty for Indian girls.  

Links:

• Watch Steffi and Charan tell why Christel House matters!