From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Durga, 13, lives in a village with her father, mother, and small sister. Durga’s mother supports the family by doing daily wage work but had wanted a different future with different opportunities for her daughter. The family have suffered badly during the pandemic as Durga’s mother has been unable to work. At times, Durga hasn’t known whether she could continue her schooling; her mother needed her to earn a daily wage during the worst of the crisis and when the choice is between survival and education, survival wins. We don’t want families to have to face that terrible dilemma. So this project helped keep the family afloat by providing food parcels. Our partners are passionate about ensuring Durga’s education doesn’t suffer. They have provided educational materials such as notebooks, a new school bag, a geometry box, and other equipment. Online lessons haven’t been possible for her because the family has no mobile phone or internet connection.  Durga had resigned herself to leaving education at 13. 

The project’s fieldworker also developed materials especially for Durga and took them to her home. They explained the benefit of Durga’s education to her mother, to encourage family support to remain in education, rather than having to earn a daily wage. The fieldworker visits Durga weekly to ensure she feels supported and is engaged in her studies. 

Durga shares “the self-learning material saved my schooling. Without it I would have dropped out of school. I’m now confident that I’ll go for my exams and also complete my further education.” 

Thank you for donating to this project; your support has helped save Durga from leaving school at 13. Her future is looking brighter.