From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Far too often, the poorest families in India must choose between education and survival and, at only 16, that choice is a daily reality for Advika and her family.

Advika’s younger sister has a heart defect requiring constant and expensive medical support. Although her parents do their best to raise the funds needed to support the whole family, it’s barely enough. They are labourers, spending their days working in the sugar cane fields across Maharashtra. It's grueling, low-paid work that takes them away from the responsibilities of the home and childcare – responsibilities that instead fall to Advika, the eldest. Only when she has completed all the housework and taken care of her sister’s needs can Advika begin to think about walking to the school, several miles away. And, with what little left-over cash her parents have being spent on her sister’s health, she walks there empty handed, unable to afford books or stationery.

Like you, we believe that education is both a right and necessity for every child, regardless of circumstance. When our partners heard about Advika’s situation, they were able to provide her and her sister schoolbooks, educational materials, extra tutoring, and even menstrual hygiene kits - an expensive novelty for families like Advika’s. Now she knows that whatever struggles she and her family must face, her and her sisters’ education will always be free.

Your support means that hundreds of families just like Advika’s don’t have to choose between health and education for their children. Thank you.