Gender Equality India Project #5307

The Blossom Bus: Help Rural Girls Get To School!

by Lotus Outreach

The Blossom Bus: Help Rural Girls Get To School!

Project Report | Aug 30, 2021
Hemlata's Story

By Suraj Kumar | Project Manager, India

India was hit hard by a second wave of Covid in 2021. Schools closed in late April, with cases soaring in both urban and rural areas. This past year saw 270 million students in India out of school for over a year due to Covid related school closures in 2020 and 2021. Students from lower income families suffered the most with lack of access to online learning and other at home learning resources.

Schools in Haryana, where Blossom Bus operates, finally started reopening at 50% capacity in mid July. It was crucial that we resume bus operations promptly, to ensure that those who wanted to be in school would be able to get there. Currently, Blossom Bus serves 565 girls including 40 young women enrolled in college. All students are attending school on a rotation basis, (50% capacity each day) to allow for social distancing measures in class. Even through tremendous challenges faced throughout the pandemic, we saw students and their families remain committed to educational goals and we are happy to report that there were no Blossom Bus dropouts during the second wave. We hope to support the young women and girls that ride BB even in the event of further school closures and lockdowns, to ensure that access to education is always an option.

We are so happy to partner with Kapadia Foundation in expanding Blossom Bus to College students. Staff on the ground in India recently had the opportunity to meet with some of the students who are a part of this program. Many of these girls are the first in their families and communities to get an education, graduate high school, let alone go on to pursue tertiary education and careers. They are driven young women who are inspiring change in their friends, sisters and communities. Hemlata is one of the students riding the Blossom Bus into her second year of college.

Hemlata is 19 years old, pursing her Bachelor of Arts from a women’s college in Palwal, Haryana. Neither of Hemlata’s parents went to school. Her father Omveer, is a farmer and her mother Chandra Dev takes care of the home. She has two brothers, her older brother is a police constable and her younger one is studying in grade 12.

Hemlata helps her father in the fields during the days she hasn't been attending school. She says she enjoys the work and no one else in the family is able to help out as her elder brother is employed and her younger brother is focused on studies. Her mother is unable to stand as she has a bad leg. Hemlata finds time for schoolwork at night, when she says there’s no disturbance and she can focus on her work in peace.

Hemlata says in the beginning, it was hard to convince her parents that she wanted to go to college. Her father was surprised that she wanted to pursue higher education, but when she pointed to other girls she knew who were going to college he agreed to consider. She said ultimately it was her brother who convinced her father to let her go to college. “Now he has full confidence in me and is excited to see me setting an example for other girls in the family.”

She said she is the first girl in her family to get so far with her studies and that she hopes to become a high level police officer and then help her village. “My father said ‘I am giving you an opportunity to do something for yourself and it's now in your hands to make me proud or let me down.’ My father’s words mean a lot to me and I want to prove myself by doing well in my exams and with my studies.”

We are honored to support girls like Hemlata in breaking down barriers and reaching for their dreams. In these challenging times, thank you for supporting Blossom Bus and Lotus Outreach.

Empowerment is the heart of sustainable change.

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May 5, 2021
Priya and Sangeeta

By Glenn Fawcett | Executive Director

Sangeeta and Priya are in 11th grade at Solara Secondary School and traveling together on Blossom Bus for the past two years. They live in Bholara, a remote village in Palwal District of Haryana.

Sangeeta is 19 years old and has been traveling to school on the Blossom Bus for two years. She is a topper in her class of 35 students. Before the bus came to her village, Sangeeta had no choice but to walk to school. “Walking to school in the heat of summer, during heavy rains and especially in winter, when the fog is so thick you can’t see where you are going, made it very difficult to attend school regularly and I missed 4 and 5 days a month. Since getting on the bus I am able to attend school every day and I’m now standing 1^st in my class! My favorite subject is history. After high school I want to complete college and work as a history teacher.”

Sangeeta’s parents are very dedicated to their children’s education. They are both totally illiterate, working as farm labor and without any land of their own but have managed to ensure high school education for their five children. Sangeeta is the youngest.

Her dad Krishan tells us, “We have to work very hard to educate our children and we don’t ask Sangeeta to do any housework so she can focus on studying.”Her mother Sukhavati added “I feel very ashamed that I am totally illiterate and never went to school a single day. I don’t want my children to have the life I have and am very happy they are all getting educated.”

. . .

Priya, a first cousin to Sangeeta has also been traveling on Blossom Bus for almost two years. She is third in her class out of thirty five students. Priya and her family live in a small village, 30 kms from Palwal, Haryana. She tells us, “traveling on the bus is very enjoyable as we get to chat up with friends and it’s a relief that we don’t have to face daily harassment from boys on the road and in the fields. It's also very exhausting walking to school and back in the heat of summer and rainy season, when our clothes become filthy with dust and mud every day.”

Her father stressed the challenges of living in a remote area:“Girls safety in these parts is a big issue. There are many [dangers] waiting to ambush girls on their to and from school. They pass remarks and try to get physical with them. There is a real danger of attack which was a big worry for us while our girls had to walk to school. We are now very happy and relaxed as the bus is like a steel safe so they go and come back safely every day.”

Two of Priya’s siblings are already studying in college, a boy doing 2^nd year BSc and a girl in her first year doing B.Arts. After completing year twelve in the coming year, Priya will be the third first generation learner in their household to graduate high school and pursue a college degree.

. . .

We are so happy to see families like Priya and Sangeeta’s who are uncompromising in their children’s education and we are honored to be able to support their success.

Thank you for ensuring access to education through Blossom Bus.

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Jan 6, 2021
Positive Impact of Blossom Bus

By Suraj Kumar | Project Manager, India

The Government Girls’ High School in Aharwan, Haryana has a newly appointed principal who noted specially the positive impact that Blossom Bus has had at the school. Mrs. Renu, the principal, admitted that she was nervous when she was assigned to the school in Aharwan, as it is in a very rural location, about 75 kilometers from her home in Gurgaon. However, when she arrived at the school, she was greeted by the sight of several Blossom Busses in the parking lot, and was told that the busses offer free transportation to girls from several surrounding villages, making it possible for them to attend school. Mrs. Renu was touched by the impact that the Blossom Bus had had on the school and felt encouraged by the efforts of Lotus Outreach at Aharwan.

Mrs. Renu feels that the presence of Blossom Bus has improved the school as a whole, by ensuring that more girls from nearby communities are able to attend. She believes that Blossom Bus has given Aharwan a good name and she is happy to be a part of this school where girls are studying in a safe, supportive and comfortable environment.

Madhu and Kajal from village Bichpuri

After an irregular and challenging year, schools in Haryana are open for girls in grade 10 and 12, who have to prepare for their board exams. Madhu and Kajal are from village Bichpuri and attend the Government Girls’ School in Aharwan. They were not able to attend online classes as they do not have smartphones or access to laptops. Though the lack of technology in these rural areas was raised as an issue to the local authorities, and there was some discussion on providing students with tablets for online learning, the government ultimately decided it was too high a cost to provide tablets to students. Thus, with schools closed from March through October, preparation for these important exams was put on hold, and many of the girls felt that this year would be wasted if they were unable to pass. Furthermore, for girls like Madhu and Kajal, their families are unlikely to support them repeating an entire year if they were to fail the examinations, meaning they would have to drop out and find work or be married off.

With schools reopening, however, Madhu and Kajal are feeling hopeful. Currently, only 10th and 12th graders are attending school, so all the teacher’s attention is on helping the girls prepare for and pass these crucial exams. With enough support and determination, the girls feel that they can pass and continue forward to Senior Secondary School, and into their futures.

Thank you for supporting girls’ access to education through the Blossom Bus.

Links:

Learn more about Blossom Bus

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