Arshiya’s day begins at 7 am when she wakes up to help her mother with household chores. She then spends time watching cartoons on TV before school. When Pratham staff tested her learning level, they found that she was a complete beginner. She had no exposure to the English language. After being a part of Pratham, she has quickly learned the alphabet and her vocabulary has improved. She is a diligent student, does her homework on time and is a good learner. She is usually one of the first to raise her hand to answer questions that the teacher asks in class. Her favorite subject in school is Urdu and she says that she enjoys learning poems. Arshiya wants to become an English teacher when she grows up!

Many thanks for your support and for giving Arshiya the opportunity to have a brighter future!

When the Pratham learning camp commenced in his town, Nagaraju could not read letters. He was very shy and used to stay quiet for most of the duration of the class. He would not mingle with other children or participate in class activities. Pratham staff realized that one of the reasons for his lack of participation and keeping to himself was that he was struggling with identifying alphabets. With the help of Pratham’s learning tool, the staff played a game of identifying alphabets with him. Nagaraju was enthusiastic and enjoyed learning through the game. This gave him a renewed sense of confidence. Soon, he was slowly able to start recognizing letters.

Throughout the camp, he would regularly complete his homework and if needed would reach out to his friends for assistance too. By the end of the 10-day camp, Nagaraju was able to identify letters without any help.

Thank you for supporting Pratham and giving children like Nagaraju an opportunity for a better future!

Pratham staff asked Palak what she has enjoyed and what she has found challenging so far in what she has learned. She mentioned that she greatly enjoys counting and learning more numbers as that always make her feel smarter. She has recently learned alphabets in upper case but finds it difficult to remember them in lower case. She says she retains the information she has learned thanks to a chart at the Pratham center which has each letter, an image of an object starting with that letter, and the sound that the letter makes in Hindi. As Palak is new to the Pratham center, she is unfamiliar with all the letters on the chart but she tries hard every day to learn the letters with her teachers.

Her brothers are able to speak and understand basic English and they always motivate Palak to put in as much effort as possible into studying. Palak wants to grow up and be a part of the engineering industry because her oldest brother, who she looks up to, works in that industry. In her free time, rather than playing, she studies so she can catch up to the level of the other students in her class and someday be like her brothers. She says that the Pratham center has helped her acquire a greater understanding of what has been taught in school and she is gaining confidence in her abilities and self.

Thank you for donating to Pratham and helping children like Palak.

When the Pratham staff member conducting the camp asked them which grade they were in, they answered that they had never been to school. The parents of both the girls worked as laborers in a brick kiln and ,since they were out for work most of the time, the girls had been given the responsibility to manage the household, cattle, poultry and to look after their younger siblings.

The Pratham staff member had a talk with Sonali and Radha’s parents and explained to them the consequences of depriving their girls of an education. The parents accepted their responsibility and repented exploiting their respective daughters. Soon after, the girls were allowed admission in the local school. Even though the headmaster initially refused them admission as he was convinced that they would drop out, he agreed to give them admission after Pratham’s intervention. Currently, Radha and Sonali are attending school regularly.

Thank you for supporting Pratham and helping young girls like Sonali and Radha.

When a Pratham representative visited Aalya’s village to organize a learning camp, he tested Aalya and she was at a low learning level. Initially Aalya was not interested in joining the learning camp, so he consulted her parents about Aalya and requested that they send her to the learning camp regularly in order to improve her learning levels. They understood his point and decided to send her to the camp.

Aalya not only enjoyed the camp classes and attended regularly, but she also showed progress in her learning levels. By the last learning camp she was able to read paragraphs! Her parents and the teachers at the camp were very happy with her performance and have decided to encourage her to continue studying.

Thank you for your generosity and for giving girls like Aalya the opportunity to learn!

When Pratham organized its first learning camp in Moon’s village in West Bengal for 10 days, the staff tested Moon. At the time, she was at a level of reading letters in Bengali and recognized 10-99 digits in mathematics. Moon attended the Pratham learning camp for 8 out of 10 days. At the end of the first learning camp, Moon was reading at the word level in Bengali. She could recognize 100-999 digits and could do addition and subtraction.

Moon continued attending the learning camps as and when they were held. At the end of the final third learning camp, Moon was reading at the story level in Bengali and could do multiplication!

One morning, Pratham staff visited Moo’s place and noticed that Moon was reading with her brother. They asked Moon, “Do you enjoy reading now?” She enthusiastically replied, “Yes! I love reading books now.”

Her family moved to their current location for employment opportunities. This complicated the decision for Karina’s schooling. Karina says she owes her life to Pratham as she could start to study again thanks to the organization.

Karina is extremely bright and loves to solve arithmetic sums. She is very sociable in surroundings where she is comfortable. She recently learned how to count and has taught all her friends as well. Her favorite game is hide-and-seek but she can only play once in a while as she is usually busy babysitting. She wants to become a teacher when she grows up so she can give back to the community. She also loves to help people who are in trouble. She says that once she is old enough she wants to change the education patterns in India and spread education to every part of the country.

Many thanks to you for helping children like Karina receive an education!

She lives in a nuclear family. Her uncle is a police officer who Sonali greatly admires. Seeing his dedication to the country, she is determined to be like him some day.

According to Sonali, Pratham provides higher quality education than the municipal school she attends. She says that in school they focus on rote learning, whereas, at Pratham she is able to actually understand the facts and reasons behind concepts that she learns.

Her family wants her to learn more and exceed their expectations. Being the only child she may be expected to support her family in the future. Her parents are well-educated and often help her and her neighboring friends with academic guidance if needed. After studying, Sonali likes to play with her dolls and also enjoys drawing.

Sonali says that she is ready for whatever life has to offer and will only keep moving forward no matter what the circumstances may hold. Such enthusiasm will certainly help Sonali excel in everything she endeavors!

Thank you for supporting Sonali and paving the path for a bright future for girls like her.

Chanchal attends school in the morning and is at the Pratham center in the afternoons. Her favorite subject is Math and Chanchal says that the Pratham center has enabled her to solve a variety of questions and has also increased her familiarity with Math. She does not enjoy studying English as she finds it the hardest subject to understand and learn. As nobody in her family understands English, learning the language has been a struggle for her. Nonetheless, when asked, Chanchal proudly says a few words such as “monkey” and “hare” to show her progress in the subject. She loves the color red and enjoys dancing.

Her family is extremely proud of her for being so determined to learn and she too is focused on her education and wants to go to college in the future. Her dream is to become a doctor and she is working hard toward achieving that dream from a young age. When asked if there is anything she would want to change in her life, she says she is perfectly happy with the life God has given her and she will make the most of it!

We are grateful for your generosity and for helping children like Chanchal.

Kanika says that Pratham has very good books on display which sharpen her visual and cognitive skills. One of the things that she recently learned and loves to share with others is reading the time. One of her cousins is an engineer and that is Kanika’s dream profession, too. After studying and playing games in the park beside her house, she loves to help her mother cook the evening meal. Her favorite food is rice and dal and she says that she knows how to cook various types of dal.

She feels that there is a still a long way to go in order for her to reach her dreams but that is the only way she will be able to change the lifestyle of her family for the future.

Thank you for supporting girls like Kanika in their journeys toward achieving their dreams!