Educating poor rural children in Goa

Sampada is 15 years old and has just completed 9th standard. She lives in our girls hostel in  Mapusa,Goa, which provides residential accommodation and educational support for girls who would not otherwise have access to secondary education.  Her younger brother lives at our nearby hostel for boys.

She comes from a rural village in Goa where accessing good quality education is a challenge. Her mother completed education up to 10th standard. She used to work in factories but now is a housewife. Her father completed education up to 9th standard. He has a small paddy field which he farms and supplements his income as a driver. The local school was not very good. There were a lot of problems and Sampada was struggling to learn anything. She had failed in every subject when she started. The teacher was not able to give her individual support and attention.  In addition, Sampada's father and elder sister did not support her to continue in education. They used to regularly beat her and try to prevent her from going to school. Her mother wanted her to complete her education and enrolled her at our girls hostel to escape the beatings and get a chance of receving a good quality education.

Sampada told me that she found the first week in the hostel very hard. It was her first time away from home and she was homesick. The wardens supported her and helped her to build friendships with the other girls. Now she is very settled and enjoys living at hte hostel. She enjoys having a clear daily timetable with plenty of space for studying as well as having fun.  

After years of struggling, Sampada was delighted to tell me that she has finally started to pass exams. She told me that she is now able to read and feels a lot more confident in her own abilities. Her dream is to become a history teacher. 

She wants all girls to study more, work regularly and be punctual so they too can fulfil their education dreams.