Educating poor rural children in Goa

When I visited the project in January, I was delighted to meet many former beneficiaries from the project who have come together to form an alumni association aimed at helping children currently benefitting from the project.  The association supports the project by raising funds locally and also by acting as mentors to current beneficiaries, to encourage them to reach for their dreams. They also provide scholarships for students who come top in their end of year exams to encourage them to get good marks and develop their confidence.

 I will be sharing some of the alumni stories over the coming year, I hope you will find them as inspiring as I do!

Nitin is the president of the alumni association and participated in the project back in 1991 as part of the first batch of students attending the boys hostel.

Nitin's parents were illiterate and unaware of the value of education. His father dropped out of education when he was 9 years old and his mother when she was just 7 years old. This is not uncommon in India, where over half of Dalit children drop out of education before the age of 14. They worked as agricultural labourers earning daily wages. Nitin has 3 brothers and it was a big struggle for the family economically when he was growing up to cover their basic needs. Nitin's parents were encouraged to enrol Nitin and his brother into the hostel. 

Thanks to the support of the hostel, Nitin was able to be the first person in his family to pass the School Completion Certificate. He continued with his education completing a bachelors degree and post-graduate diploma and now works as a pharmacist. Nitin told me that if he had not attended the hostel he would have been forced to drop out before reaching 10th standard. He now has a good professional job.  His brother also was able to complete his education to a high level achieving a post-graduate diploma in geophysics and now is working as a teacher.

Nitin now gives 10% of his salary every month to the project to express his gratitude for how it has changed its life. He aspires to grow the alumni association so that they can help the current beneficiaries more.