The Guidance of a Proud Mother!

Fifteen year old Ekta comes from the village of Anupshahr and is currently in class 9B. Her father, Jaivir, works in the town of Sanmika, and her mother, Sanju, is a business owner. Ekta§s mother§s education is at class 10. Ekta and her two sisters and one brother live in a four room house that has a toilet, electricity, and a hand pump for water.

Ekta loves going to school because it gives her and her friends independence. She comes from a family of strong, independent women. Her mother owns a local beauty parlor, a computer which villagers can use, and a sewing business which does machine embroidery, and she is a role model for Ekta and her fellow students.

Ekta, herself, is an extremely smart and outgoing girl. She came first in all of class 8 last year in exams, making her mother very proud. Her attendance is also exemplary- in grade 7, it was 95%, and currently it is 99%!

Besides excelling in studies, she is also learning hand embroidery at Pardada Pardadi school. She has got a natural talent for it, and her teachers are confident that she will be able to master some of the more intricate embroidery styles too. With this knowledge, Ekta would later be able to earn money by opening her own hand embroidery shop from home. This would give her income to spend on her family, and more importantly, provide her with greater decision-making power than women usually have in her village.

Thank you, Debra, Anuj, Maria, Venkat, Susan and James, Ehtasham, Niranjan, Dace, Chuck, LE STRAT (x2) and Dennis for donating an entire year of vocational training.

Thank you, Denise, for donating a set of two school uniforms, a sweater, a pair of shoes and socks for Ekta.

Ekta dreams of joining the police force someday, but till that happens, your generous donations  would ensure that she gets to attend school and has a marketable skill to fall back on!

Thanks so much for your support of Ekta!