A Social Butterfly at Pardada Pardadi!

Dear James,

Twenty year old Pooja hails from the village of Fatehpur. Her father, Rukamvir, is a farmer, and her mother, Omwati, is a housewife. Her father has a 12^th class education while her mother has none. Pooja has three sisters and three brothers, all of whom live in a two room house. Her family has no toilet or electricity, but they do have a hand pump which is used for water. Also, her family owns one buffalo and five goats which are used both for milk, providing them an additional source of income and labor too.

Pooja is a class 10 student, studying at the school run by Pardada Pardadi in Anoopshahr. She is a sweet girl who seems shy at first, but when you get to know her she loves to laugh and socialize. One of her favorite things to do is study which paid off because she came third in her class last year. Also, Pooja loves to read and play sports like softball. Like any high school student, Pooja is still undecided about what she wants to do after she graduates, but her teachers are convinced that Pooja will succeed at anything she puts her mind and heart into.

The school provides a scholarship for girls to receive bicycles. This scholarship is given to only those girls who are dedicated to school and who live too far away to walk. Since Pooja has a bicycle, she is able to come to school more often, and it is safer for her also. Walking home in the dark is very unsafe and which is also the main reason why many parents pull their daughters out of school. The bicycle ensures safety for these girls and Pooja now only has to ride 30 minutes instead of the hour or an hour and a half that it might take to walk!

Thank you so much, James, for supporting Pooja in your donation of a bicycle because this will ensure her safety coming to and from school!

Thank you also, Belinda, for donating two sets of school uniforms, winter clothes, socks and shoes to Sharda. She takes great pride in her appearance, and will keep them spotlessly clean.