Story Of Dhapi

Govardha is a small village in Madhya Pradesh where many young girls are forced to drop out of school because of various socio-economic factors like gender discrimination, child marriage and migration. Lack of safety as well is a constant worry here as eve teasing is a common menace. In such dire situations, a girl child is often not allowed to attend school or is usually asked to drop out. Dhapi Khushwah would have been routed to a similar fate if it wasn’t for her determination to study.

A bright, inquisitive girl, Dhapi recently cleared her 6th std. annual examinations with a laudable 88%. This feat however wasn’t achieved easily. Dhapi had to overcome various challenges and obstacles before setting out on her journey to her academic achievements. Dhapi had to travel 2 kms everyday to reach her school and an equal distance to get back home. Through her positivity she proved that none of the hurdles can prevail over hard work.

Dhapi’s parents always supported her unlike the other parents in her village. They sincerely want their daughter to pursue higher education but sometimes societal pressure and the problem of insecurity pulls them back even today. Dhapi’s father is a vegetable vendor and her mother helps him in this work too.  With the annual income hardly touching Rs. 75,000, they struggle to meet the basic needs of the family including the education of Dhapi and her two sisters. However despite these difficulties, Dhapi’s parents provided their daughter with the much required mental support that resulted in her stupendous achievement in school.

Dhapi was enrolled as a Nanhi Kali when she was a student of class 2. Like other Nanhi Kalis she started receiving material and extra tuition support through the Nanhi Kali program. In the past 6 years she has received approximately 3210 hours of extra academic support in all subjects through the Academic Support Centre. An excellent learner, Dhapi was awarded for scoring the highest marks in English in class 5. Going forward Dhapi aims to become a doctor some day and is steadily moving ahead on her path to realize her dreams.