"We have learned many new things, and are ready to take more responsibilities", says Sanjana. She studies in the 9th grade and is one of the volunteers from Kabir Basti, a village in Kathura block of Haryana's Sonipat district. Sanjana's group includes Rajni (11th grade), Neha (9th grade), Shalu (11th grade), Sheetal (10th grade), Ritika(9th grade), Tamanna (9th grade) who belong to Gudda-A division of Kabir Basti, and Nikki (9th grade) and Jyoti (12th grade) hail from the Gudda-B division. These girls have volunteered for collecting the Village Report Card and also volunteer for Pratham ..read more

Pratham's Vocational training centre at Mahule village in Odisha's Sonepur district offers training and placement to youths in the automotive sector. It is the only automotive centre in the region, and its infrastructure is provided by the Odisha Skill Development Authority, and the implementation is done by Pratham. The youths that enrol in this centre are from the economically disadvantaged background from Sonepur district, as well as neighbouring Boudh district. They generally belong to families who are involved in small-scale farming or daily-wage work.  Trilochan Khandagiri joined this ..read more

Sabyasachi Biswal hails from Dapala village in Odisha's Boudh district. His family practices farming at a very small scale, and they have involved themselves in rice cultivation. Sabyasachi always wanted to enter into a different occupation apart from farming. "I started a small shop in my village. But I did not get any returns. I had to close the shop", he says. However, his didi, a teacher from his classes informed him about Pratham Institute's vocational training centre in Mahule village, district Sonepur. This centre imparts training in the automotive vertical. "I was looking for a job, an ..read more

Hiren hails from Jharkheda village, in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district. He has completed education till 10th grade through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) with the support of Pratham's program for children with disabilities. We met him in Bhopal in 2017 when NIOS had organised a drawing competition, and Hiren was one of the participants. Hiren Hiren acquired polio when he was very young, and his future became a matter of concern for his family members. His parents work as daily wage labourers, and hence, the family has always faced the problem of earning a minimum income. Hi ..read more

Sujata Padhi and Sarojini Mohanto are best friends and like to do things together. They travel to school together, study and play together, and now like to learn in a group. "There are many ways one can learn in a group, and it is not restricted to one group", says Sujata. "It allows us to explore more", adds Sarojini. We are at Karadiha village in Karanjia block in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. The two languages spoken in this village are Santhali and Olchi, and as the district has a tribal population, it is a challenge for them to learn in Odiya. However, thanks to the library program in ..read more

"I dropped out of school as the high school was far, and I could not afford a daily trip. While there was a private school nearby, the fees were very high." Kajal Upadhyay lives in Sutar khedi village, located in the Mhow block of Madhya Pradesh's Indore district. Her primary schooling took place at the government school in her village, and for the reasons mentioned above, she discontinued her studies. Her family members - both mother and father - work as labourers and their income is sufficient to meet only the basic needs of the family. Kajal accepted this fact and discontinued her studie ..read more

"My mother-in-law was the biggest support, and I cannot thank her enough." Nainaben begins narrating her story. As she describes it further, we realise how crucial was her mother-in-law's support in making her what she is today. Nainaben passed her 10th-grade examination in 2017, and she had dropped out of school way back in 2004. But when she decided to enrol in Pratham's Second Chance program, she had to face two major hurdles - her husband and her father-in-law. But Naina's mother-in-law wanted her to study again, and she had an innovative idea in mind to convince the two of them. "She t ..read more

"I talk to other women in the village, and I want to see this grow as a movement." Rekha expresses her optimism during our meeting at her house. We are at Hyakanuru village in Karnataka's Mysore district. It lies in the T. Narasipura block, where people either cultivate rice or travel to Mysore for work. Rekha's family is involved in the former. While she is a housewife, she also helps her husband on the field sometimes. "There was no after-school class in the village. I wanted to initiate it so that children could revise what they studied in school. I wanted it in my village, just like the ..read more

Marzeena lives with her husband and daughter, Tamanna, in Rajkot, Gujarat. Due to low income and rising rent costs, the family had to move away from Tamanna's school. As that area was unsafe and far from school, Tamanna had to drop out five years ago because Marzeena and her husband thought it was too risky for her to go to school alone. So Tamanna stayed at home and helped her mother with household work but wished she could continue studying. They heard about Pratham's Second Chance program which helps dropouts in completing their secondary school education. Marzeena realised that the only wa ..read more

Marzeena lives with her husband and daughter, Tamanna, in Rajkot Gujarat. Due to low income and rising rent costs, the family had to move away from Tamanna's school. As that area was unsafe and far from school, Tamanna had to drop out five years ago because Marzeena and her husband thought it was too risky for her to go to school alone. So Tamanna stayed at home and helped her mother with housework but wished she could continue studying. They heard about Pratham's Second Chance program which helps dropouts in completing their secondary school education. Marzeena realised that the only way she ..read more