Overcoming Adversity: A Young Girl’s Journey to Pursue Education
Susmita Devi lived in a small village called Laxmipur with her parents. Her family of seven members relied solely on the income generated from the farming work done by her father. Despite the financial challenges, Susmita’s parents ensured that all their children, including Susmita and her siblings, went to school. She got her early education in a school near her village, up until grade 8.
However, after completing 8th grade, her father did not want to send her away for further studies because the school was too far. This was a common issue faced by many girls in their village, causing them to drop out of school. But Susmita was determined to continue her education, and after much convincing, her father sent her to live with her aunt in Shaheedpur, where she could attend school. However, things didn’t go as planned.
She struggled to keep up with the other students and soon started losing confidence. She began skipping school and started helping her aunt with housework instead.
There was a meeting held by CRY’s CARC team in the community which Susmita’s uncle and aunt happened to attend. They were happy to hear what the team had to share and encouraged Sushmita to join the center. She gradually began developing an interest in studies and her confidence increased.
Because of the efforts of the teachers at the CARC and her passion for studies, she started to feel confident studying Maths and English.
She started attending both school and the CARC center every day, determined to achieve her dreams. Susmita was grateful to the teachers and the CRY organization for their efforts in rekindling her passion for learning.
The Problem
The closure of 1.5 million schools due to the pandemic and the resultant lockdowns has affected millions of children in India. While the repeated lockdowns had stalled economic activity and pushed more families into poverty, the situation also took a toll on the education of children and heightened the risk of drop-out of school thereby undoing years of effort to break inter-generational cycles of deprivation. Children have been at heightened risk of exploitation, especially since school closures have not only precluded many from access to education but also from a main source of shelter and nourishment. In some of our operational areas we saw an increase in child labor of more than 200% during the last two years. The Covid-induced situation has also resulted in a spike in child marriages.
The Solution
The Child and Adolescent Resource Centre (CARC) Programme is specifically designed to cater to the needs of children between the ages of 6 to 18 years who are at risk of dropping out of the school system and are vulnerable to child marriage, trafficking, and child labor. The program has various aims, including the retention of motivation levels and positivity about education amongst children to prevent them from dropping out of school. It also focuses on building the agency of children through life skills and sports to promote their well-being and confidence to pursue their aspirations and recover from losses. Another critical aim of the program is to transform parents’ and caregivers’ mindset regarding the importance of education and the value of protecting their children. Additionally, the program aims to reinforce informed and aware community vigilance and action to protect children and influence government mechanisms to function optimally for the care and protection of children at all levels from village to state.
Impact of the Project
● 4,867 children impacted
● 93% children attending schools regularly
● 676 children re-enrolled in school
● 262 irregular children regularized in schools
● 120 Children & Adolescent collectives formed
● 1,010 children benefited from life skills sessions
● 3,364 children participated in sports, theater and arts-based activities
2023 Plans
● Working with 3660 children across 24 centers
● Facilitate daily interactions with children to encourage them to stay focused towards education
● Provide class appropriate teaching aid and workbooks
● Village and block level enrollment campaigns to encourage children to go back to school/stay in school
● Facilitate digital education to children in class 9th to 12th
● Motivate children to participate in sports, Art based activities in the center
● Facilitate life skill sessions with children and adolescents for overall mental and emotional development
● Render opportunities for older children to emerge as role models for other children and the community
● Parents groups sessions to build knowledge of varied topics related to children
2022 Grant Disbursed (Sept to Dec, 2022) – $64,559
2023 Budget (Jan to Dec, 2023) – $297,425
