From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

One of the most important factors in a child’s education is their mental and physical development in their early years. The project runs a care giver programme for parents to help them care for their children in these early years. This gives children a chance to do well in school as they grow older.  

Aradhya is just 17 months old. She lives with her parents and two sisters in the village of Sukewadi in Maharashtra, India. The family is landless and both parents work in low paying manual labour to get by.  

In rural traditional India boys are often more valued than girls. As Aradhya is the youngest of three daughters her mother, Trishallya, had hoped when she got pregnant for Aradhya to be a boy. When Trishallya enrolled in the project care giver programme when she got pregnant the team were able to explain to her that a girl child was equally as valuable as a boy. They explained that girls could be educated to grow up and gain good jobs and could support them in their old age.    

Trishella learnt about good child care practices through the programme including nutrition, hygiene and the importance of breast feeding. Now Aradhya is very active and is growing and developing quickly.

Trishella is a member of the local women’s self-help group and now helps to pass on her learning to other young women like her.  The group has given Trishella the confidence to challenge her relatives who said she was to blame for not having a boy. She says that she will educate all her daughters just like the boys. Trishella is very grateful to the project and its supporters for giving her the confidence to raise her daughters well and give Aradhya the best start in life.