The Blossom Bus: Help Rural Girls Get To School!

Since our last update, the world as a whole has faced very difficult circumstances. In India, where the Blossom Bus program operates, there is a strict lockdown in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Schools have remained closed since the second week of March due to the current COVID-19 crisis and subsequent lockdown.

Anticipating a long lockdown, the government of Haryana started online classes for all students in grades 1 through 12 beginning in the second week of April. Classes are being telecasted daily for two hours through TV channels. School teachers have also created WhatsApp groups and are able to support students when they need help. The school teachers have stated that classes are running smoothly and are being supervised by an education officer of the precinct where the Blossom Bus girls study. The education officer appreciated our contacting him and said that he is getting messages from students even late at night and answering them with pleasure and pride.

While these remote classes are far from perfect under the difficult circumstances of the current lockdown, we are happy to know the children's studies are continuing and that teachers are committed to these new ways of learning. We are reminded of the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" as now, out of necessity, even in the rural villages of India, technology can be used and online education is possible. We thank the government of Haryana for this initiative on behalf of students and we hope and pray things will get back to normal as soon as possible.

During the 2019-2020 academic year, 650 girls from 37 rural villages in Mewat, Haryana were able to achieve an average of 90% attendance due to Lotus Outreach’s Blossom Bus program. There has been significant increases in the number of girls attending the seven high schools served by Blossom Bus. We take heart in witnessing the visible impact of the program for these students.

Thank you for supporting access to education today and every day. 

The Blossom Bus program has continued to run smoothly from October to December 31. We are delighted to report that during this quarter the program has again been able to overcome safety issues, gender biases, inclement weather, seasonal responsibilities on the farm and sibling care, to ensure full school attendance rates for 681 girls from 37 villages attending seven high schools, including 40 attending colleges. 

Even while education department and school authorities continue to applaud this initiative, during this academic year there has been no further provision of affordable public or private transportation available to ensure girls from these villages might reach school safely. Provision of these buses is therefore crucial to the continuing education of the hundreds of girls served by the program.

While the numbers plying on the buses have remained the same for the program during the quarter, the demand for seats on buses among the village communities where the program operates has continued to grow. We are keeping a list of applicants and hope to add 300 new applicants to the current riders before the end of this current academic year on March 31, 2020. 

Every girl that remains in school another year not only becomes an inspiration and role model for her sisters and all the girl children of the villages in which this program is working, she is also adding to the development of her community for now and generations to come.

Nobel laureate and girls’ education activist, Malala Yousafzai, famously said, “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen, can change the world.” An enormous body of evidence supports her conviction. For starters, educated girls realize higher wages and greater upward mobility, contributing to economic growth. Their rates of maternal mortality drop, as do mortality rates of their babies. They are less likely to marry as children or against their will. They have lower incidence of HIV/AIDS and malaria—the “social vaccine” effect. Their agricultural plots are more productive and their families better nourished. They are more empowered at home, at work, and in society.*

Teachers, principals and education department officers in our work area continuously remind us how inspired they are by our efforts and that by enabling regular attendance of large numbers of girl students at local high schools, the Blossom Bus program is keeping their schools open. This contribution to the overall vibrancy of education in the community is a testament to the deeper impacts of this program on a society at large.

*Paul Hawken, Drawdown (2017)

Links:

• Learn more about Blossom Bus!
• Hope is Rising! End of Year Update