From Child Labour to College: Support Her Future

Chetan, 10 years old, is from Jakhuri village. He lives in a hut with his father, mother, sister and brother. His family belong to a marginalised nomadic community and are very poor. His father works doing physical labour, and his mother works as a day labourer when work is available. They earn very little, around £40 a month.

Chetan is a student at the local village school. However, his family could not afford to buy him the educational materials he needed for his studies. This made him feel inferior to the other children and due to his lack of confidence, Chatan stopped attending school regularly and began to fall behind in his studies.

With the help of his school teacher and the local women’s self-help group, the project was made aware of Chetan’s situation and was able to provide him with the educational materials he needed for school. The project’s staff also supported Chetan emotionally, giving him the confidence to continue with his studies. He understands that through studying well he could change his life.

With the project’s help, Chetan goes to school every day and works hard for his studies. Because he now has the same educational materials as the other children, he no longer feels the inferiority that was previously holding him back. He actively participates in the classroom, and is treated with importance and respect by his fellow classmates. He receives support from his teacher for his studies and his confidence continues to grow.

Chetan is now a good, hard-working student who is popular among his school friends.