Give a girl a bike: help her to go to school

Bicycle Project:

This proud girl is the ten years old Mohali Shivaji Pise, with her new bike, which she received five days before from donators of the “Research fellows of School of Life Sciences”. With the new bike Mohali can save a lot of time on her daily six kilometre trip to school and back. Without the support of the donators, the family could not have afforded a bike and so Mohali is even prouder to own the first bike in the family. Despite of the really bad economical situation the family managed to repay a loan for a life saving heart operation of Mohalis older sister Swapnali a few month ago.

The bike does not only help Mohali to go to school quicker but also to obtain more confidence, because she feels that other people are interested in her education. Mohali visit the rural school in Mhaswad in the fifth standard and is a really good student. In the last year she got 97% out of 100%. When she will have finished the twelfth standard she wants to go to university to become a teacher. She is curious how the other kids at school will react if they see her new bike. Especially the girls in rural India are often worse supported with material things then boys. So her whole family is glad, that there is a Bank like Mann Deshi, because in rural areas of India few people care about the poor families and their problems. The most indigenous people need loans for their houses, the education of their children, health, marriage, computers or books. But despite all the deficits Mohali is really happy that she could get an own bike thanks to the help of the donators and so she wants so say “Thank you” to all people who show interest on the needs of rural girls like her.

Dhanshri Shivaji Gunjane is eleven years old and in the 6th grade. Her household consists of her parents, a brother and a sister, along with her uncle, aunt, grandfather, and grandmother. Dhanshri’s father is a farmer, and her entire family works in the fields or on the farm. She is a bright student who earned a 93 percent in the 5th grade and who won first prize in Computation. She donated her prize to an orphanage located in the village of Palvan. Since her school is far away from her house, Dhanshri needed a bicycle to attend. Through generous donations to the Freedom Ride project at Mann Deshi, Dhanshri can continue her education and philanthropy.

Dhanshri’s story is one of many similar stories in Mhaswad. For students who cannot afford to purchase bicycles, the Mann Deshi Foundation collects funds to purchase and donate the bicycles. These girls are academically strong and have a commitment to education. You can help support girls like Dhanshri by providing seed money for bicycles. Adopting one girl costs only $50, a class of 5 girls can be adopted for $250, and 10 girls for $500. You can also sponsor a village which has achieved 100 percent enrollment of girls in school for $2250. Mann Deshi can send you information about and pictures of the specific girls you have helped and provide you with the opportunity keep up with her progress in school.

Thank you for your continued support,

Vanita Shinde