Help a girl student to continue her education!

Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women. It is also an area that offers some of the clearest examples of discrimination women suffer. 

A girl child in India is often seen as a liability, a ‘burden’ to pass on. Given the prevailing influence of patriarchal values, right from birth many girls bear the brunt of gender inequality, and gender stereotypes and are treated inferiorly, as compared to boys.

No matter how talented and ambitious she is, the girl child often receives the shorter end of the stick. In fear of exploitation and abuse, many girls are not sent to school and are kept at home only to be married off early. And even if she is not married off, the young girl is still denied a deserving education, quality healthcare, employment opportunities and equal rights that a boy easily gets. While some girls manage to ‘escape’ from the shackles and try to build a bright future, most resign to their ill fate. Among children not attending school, there are twice as many girls as boys, and among illiterate adults, there are twice as many women as men. Studies show 80% of girls drop out after primary education due to high education costs.

How can we hope for India to progress when half of our society remains under the shadow of discrimination? To find answers, we must first understand the key difficulties that a girl child faces.

Early education can be instrumental in shaping society towards progress. When a girl is educated, she is empowered. She can make decisions for herself, raise the standard of living for her family and children, generate more employment options and reform society as a whole. Therefore, a change in the mindset towards girl child education in India is the need of the hour. Every girl child must be treated equally with love and respect.

We at Abhikshamta offer quality education and scholarships/financial assistance for bright students especially girls from marginalized communities. Our aim is to support the dream of every student to construct their future with perseverance. We strengthen their inner voice by driving away their fear of suppression and by bringing freedom into every sphere of their lives. We strongly believe that if we need to make the world a better place for tomorrow, girls need to be architects of the future.

The identification of students is done by exam followed by physical visits to the student's home by Abhikshamta volunteers or staff, to assess the need to ensure only deserving applicants receive the assistance. The identification of deserving students is based on academic merit and family income with respect to family members. After verifying their eligibility and verifying the fee structure, the fees are directly paid to the school/hostel accounts. The same students are helped till they finish their graduation, provided they pass the final exam every year with a minimum of 60 per cent marks.

The program has a well-structured monitoring and reporting procedure in place. The progress of students is closely monitored throughout the support period and periodically provided to the donors.

Girls need our help now more than ever. Join us in providing underprivileged girls with the opportunity to rewrite their destinies. Many individuals and organizations have been generous enough to support the program with their benevolence. Together we shall contribute to the transformation of our society and build a strong nation. It takes just a little to support the education of young girls.

If we educate one girl, we educate two families and also the social and economic benefits of providing higher education to girls are proven and indisputable. At Abhikshamta, we feel proud to have made a difference in the lives of these girls and their families. We are sure these girls will be part of a chain reaction to support and bring more talent into the mainstream and in turn help their families and their communities. These girls will be the key contributors to building a strong nation. The government has been making persistent efforts to raise the status of the girl child in society as well as incentivize her education through various schemes and programs. These have surely contributed to girls’ education to an extent yet a lot more needs to be done for girls to be truly treated as equal to boys.

Moni is from an underprivileged family in the small remote village of Kaundha which is located in the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh. Her father is an unskilled worker while her mother is a homemaker. The total monthly income of her family is INR 7,000 - barely enough to sustain the family. She has one brother and one sister. 

Like others, Moni is also a hard-working and intelligent girl in her village but due to financial constraints her basic needs like food, and clothes are hardly fulfilled by her parents. 

Moni is one of the many girls who have aspirations for studies but behind all odds, she is determined to study well and achieve her dreams. Abhikshmta helped her with basic education by providing stationery and regular guidance in the preparation for various national-level school entrance exams so she can get a better education like the other privileged children.

Her hard work and sincerity paid off well. With all her efforts, she got admission to the prestigious Central Hindu School (CHS), Varanasi. Every year, nearly 50000 students appear for the CHS entrance examination, and after very stringent evaluation, only 170 students are admitted to CHS. She is the first girl from her village who got selected for such a prestigious school and that too out of her town. Moni is a positive role model for the whole village. Her positivity and sincerity inspire other students to push themselves. 

Moni is a hardworking girl so she qualified for the entrance exam, but the constraint still remains the same, the economic condition of her family is not allowing her to get admission to a school that costs around 94 thousand rupees per annum. When she was about to drop out of education, Abhikshmamta decided to help her in order to reduce the rate of girls dropping out from education which is the main hurdle in female literacy and women empowerment. Now Abhikshamta Foundation is helping her family to get donations and to take some of the financial pressure off the family by covering Moni's school fees and her basic needs.

With the support of the Abhikshamta Foundation and generous donors like you, Moni completed 2 years in CHS. She scored good marks in her academics. She is also participating in co-curricular activities, which is making her more confident and reducing her stage fear. She has a great vision for her future. What's even more heartwarming is the fact that she wants to become a doctor so she can give back to the community by treating poor people.

We are rallying behind Moni to help her achieve her dream! We are trying to provide complete financial support including academic fees, hostel fees, mess charges, stationery, healthcare, uniform etc during the term of 5 years. You can also make a big contribution and help the organization in accomplishing its mission of educating girls by donating online. Your donation will not only empower the girl child but will also give you huge satisfaction. Together, we can take small steps to make a big change.

Let us all come forward and join hands to give wings to a girl child’s dreams. Empower, educate, and make her strong to stand her own ground and shine in her efforts. She Can Fly, let’s give her the sky!