From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Daughters are often not as valued as sons in India. Traditional rural attitudes say that it is better to educate and care for boys. One of the aims of the project team is to educate the local community on the value of girls to the family and society as well as the benefits of keeping girls in education and out of early marriage. Preeti’s story shows what fantastic work the team are doing:

Preeti, two years old, lives with her mother and two elder sisters in a two roomed hut in the district of Ahmednagar in Sangamner. Preeti’s mother is out all day working as an agricultural labourer. Her father travels for work. The family have very little money. As a result of the lack of care and resources, Preeti went uncared for. When the project team first learned of Preeti in May 2014 she was just 6.5kg and was clinically diagnosed as severely malnourished.

The project team met with Preeti’s mother and convinced her to send Preeti to the team’s paediatric camps for malnourished children as well as the enrolling her in the local preschool centre. As per the doctor’s advice Preeti was proscribed supplementary nutrition to bring her back to full health. Project team members also alerted the local women’s self-help group to the family’s situation. The women members of the group visited the home to offer Preeti’s mother support and advice.

With careful monitoring by the project doctor Preeti is slowly being brought back to full health. She has gained 2kg and though she still has weight to put on to be fully healthy she is making good progress. She comes daily to the preschool centre and has made very good friends there.

Preeti’s mother has also benefited massively. She is a regular member of the local women’s self-help group and now works to convince others of the equal value of women and girls to society. She is hugely grateful to the project and all its supporters for the transformation she has been able to achieve.