Send a Child in India to School for a Year

In southern Rajasthan today, a good quality education remains elusive for many rural dwellers. The combination of schools which are too far for young children to walk plus socio-economic pressures means that many children receive little or no education. As poverty is rife in the Udaipur district, many children are discouraged from attending school because their families desperately need the small income they can bring in. However, this adversely affects a child’s life. Once a child leaves school and begins to work, bringing that child back into education becomes an extremely difficult endeavour. Here at Seva Mandir we see this vicious cycle on a daily basis while carrying out our work in the field.

On our last field trip we visited Girwa, which is located 31 km east of Udaipur. During our visit we stopped by one of Seva Mandir’s bridge schools (Shiksha Kendras) which provide basic education to children aged 6-14 in order to prepare them for enrolment in government schools.

We met young Ramesh, a 12 year-old-boy, who has attended the school since 2012. Ramesh’s parents, like many in southern Rajasthan, were reluctant to send him to school as they needed him to generate an income for the family. His four elder siblings did not attend school for this very reason. His parents both earn a living through daily wage labour in Udaipur where on a good day they would earn a modest $2 a day. They are both illiterate, which makes finding skilled employment almost impossible. So their life is very precarious indeed. We want Ramesh’s future to be different.

Our persistent staff were able to convince Ramesh’s parents to enrol him in the Girwa bridge school. Initially he found the transition to education difficult, but now he is flourishing and will continue his studies in the local government school later this year. He has a keen interest in maths and has aspirations to become a doctor. Four years ago Ramesh and those around him would not have entertained this thought. It was a pleasure to talk to Ramesh and hear about the progress he has made through our education programme. 

Last year, 6,310 children who had never been to school or had dropped out started their studies at our bridge schools in rural southern Rajasthan, and 1,303 children graduated from our bridge schools and enrolled in government schools. 

We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and hope to continue making a positive impact on the lives of those living in southern Rajasthan. 

Thank you so much for your support.

Kind Regards, 

Atul Lekhra and the Seva Mandir Team

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