Not so long ago, the Nanhi Kali team at Bhanwariaya phala; a village in Jhadol Block of Rajasthan was worried about Nanhi Kali Geeta Nanama’s extreme irregularity. Of course, the reason for her irregularity was not unknown to them. Geeta, who hails from an economically disadvantaged background, had to manage the burden of household chores, take care of her siblings and even take the animals out for grazing which left her with little time to concentrate on her academics.
In order to remedy this situation, the Nanhi Kali team took great pains to convince Geeta’s parents to send her regularly to school. They also started to raise the issue of Geeta’s attendance shortage in all the community meetings. This forced her parents to send Geeta to school regularly.
Subsequent to this, Geeta took full advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself to her. However, she still had to work very hard, since the burden of work that she had to handle at home remained the same. Moreover, added to this was the fact that she was a first generation learner from a family which perennially faced financial constraints. But Geeta overcame all these challenges through sheer determination and industry. Where she scored just 42.8% in her class V half yearly exam, she scored 75.5% in her annual exams. She continued her good academic performance throughout class VI too, which she passed with first division marks. She is presently in class VIII and is still constantly improving her performance.
She very modestly credits her good performance to the hard, dedicated and planned work of the Nanhi Kali team. Her teachers though give us the complete picture and this is what her class teacher had to say, “Geeta has shown tremendous determination. Her dedication towards her studies and her hard work has made her a role model in the village.”
When asked about their opinion, her parents said, “Joint effort of the Nanhi Kali team and her school teacher has led to her doing well in her academics. We are very proud of our daughter.”
As for the Nanhi Kali herself, she says, “I managed to score good marks in the exams because of the innovative and unconventional teaching methods of the Nanhi Kali project. I hope to continue performing well.”
We too hope so and wish this Nanhi Kali a bright future.