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Most of us thinks that we will save a little bit from today’s earning so that we can live tomorrow in a better way. I am married for almost nine year now, I belong to a low profile family, stay with my in-laws, husband and two daughters. My husband and me had to save a little more because we have two daughter to get married.
Neither my husband nor I went to school, he used to work as a sweeper and I was working as a maid. We never knew what education really means and to be frank nobody ever enlightened us. My sethani’s daughter used to go out every evening, one day while I was returning home I saw her with a guy on bike dropping her across the lane. In fact, I was little surprised to find her near my basti, most of the time, I always wanted to ask her what she was doing in such areas.
And one day out of curiosity I asked her who was that guy and what she was doing at the basti, she just laughed and said why you so interested with wink, I felt embarrassed to ask her such question so I just said to forgive me. She then enquired whether I have any children and did they attend school, so I told her that including both my husband and my salary we could only provide them food and clothes and education won’t help them so why waste money. Most importantly I can’t afford to spend my savings on my daughter’s education or else how would I arrange her wedding requirements.
She then told me why was she there at my basti, she used to teach few children over there, and that she used to work as a volunteer of a NGO called Turnstone Global. She then asked me do I want to spoil the whole future of my family, because unless I educate my children they will remain illiterate and bag jobs as maid, driver, and sweeper etc, job that are not respected in society and will always have to sit on the floor instead of the chair, if you know what she meant.
To my surprise she said education is not chargeable at an informal school and that the NGO run school does not charge from the backward society. After much convincing me I agreed to her request and sent my daughters to her school, my daughters was excited and they learnt many things apart from education. They learnt to make handicrafts, stitch, dance, sing etc., Turnstone Global’s main aim was to uplift our society and help us to earn a respectable living.
Today both my daughters are married one teaches dance at the informal school at the basti and other work as an office receptionist. I glad that my didi, had opened my eyes and that education is more important than getting my daughter married at an early age.
