Not skipping class any more!

Payal is a 10-year-old girl who lives in a village in Midnapur. Her family includes her mother and her sister. Her father left them a few years ago, saying that he would be working in Bangalore, but has not contacted them in two years. Payal’s mother works as a day laborer to support her family’s daily needs. Payal helps her mother with the household chores.

Although she is in school and is in Grade 4, Payal does not attend classes regularly. When Pratham, conducted a learning camp in her village, Payal was included in the camp and the baseline test results showed that she was unable to read a Grade 1 level text and she did not know the basics of mathematics.

A Pratham representative came to know of Payal’s frequent absences from school and so he explained to Payal’s mother the importance of regular attendance and its impact on learning. While conducting the learning camp he noticed that Payal is actually a very motivated little girl and just needs encouragement. At the end of the third Pratham learning camp, it was found that Payal was able to read simple texts and could do simple addition - this was a significant improvement in her learning levels!

Payal now goes to school regularly. When asked to speak about her future plans she says that she wants to be a teacher.

Many thanks to you for your generosity and for encouraging girls like Payal to learn!