Sponsored child gives back to her community

Sixteen-year-old Laxmi lives with her parents and sister in Pachali, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). She studies in the eleventh grade in a nearby college, not far away from her house. She loves to study and helps little girls in her community with their studies. Today, she understands the value of education and has developed a passion for social work. However this was not the case some years ago.

When Laxmi was eight years old she decided to quit studying, like all her older sisters did after they finished primary schooling. “It was not only a lack of money, but also the absence of inspiration that led me to my decision,” Laxmi recalls. “Looking at the trend my sisters had set of dropping out of school after the fourth or fifth grade, I also wanted to do the same.” Laxmi and her sisters were able to study free of cost till the fifth grade through the government’s free education policy for primary education in government schools.

Laxmi’s mother works as a beverage bottle cleaner in a waste collection centre; her father is unemployed. Her father stopped working after he became mentally ill many years ago. She has four older sisters, three of whom are married and live separately. Her older sister works in a leather bag-manufacturing factory to supplement her mother’s income, income that is barely enough to feed a family of four.

In 2001, World Vision started work in the urban slums of Kathmandu and enrolled Laxmi in its sponsorship programme alongside many needy children in the same area. Laxmi had almost completed her primary schooling and was on the verge of dropping out of school. Understanding her family’s financial condition and the needs of Laxmi, World Vision supported her admission to sixth grade at Saraswoti Niketan Secondary School, a government school nearby, the same school which was also being helped with infrastructure construction and teacher’s training by World Vision.

At the request made by World Vision, the school further agreed to give her a partial scholarship, till tenth grade. This was just the beginning for Laxmi. After she returned to school, Laxmi also attended World Vision-funded recreational classes that offered her and many poor community children after-school tuition, indoor/outdoor games and leisure activities. The classes organised on weekdays for children like her also helped her get better grades in class. She recalls, “At home there was no one to help me in my studies but the tuitions provided while attending the recreational classes, helped me understand my subjects better and do my homework.”

In 2006, Laxmi became a member of a child club called Chetana Bal Club and soon became its treasurer. As well as the opportunity to participate in the many activities offered by the club such as quiz, speech, dancing, singing and literary competitions, membership equipped her with skills in leadership, radio anchoring and public speaking. Through the club she was also trained in first aid, care for the environment, composting, zero-land farming, vegetable farming, ways of making water safe to drink, as well as being given psychosocial counselling.

All this training enriched not only Laxmi but also her family and community. She was quick to impart her skills to her family who thus benefited from what Laxmi had learnt. Living in the premises of a temple and landless, her family could actually grow and consume their own fresh vegetables through zero-land farming. Her mother, Bimala says, “After Laxmi taught us about zero-land farming, we had all kinds of fresh vegetables growing in our house like tomatoes, brinjal, beans, chillies, cucumbers and pumpkins.” World Vision also provided her family with the pots and seedlings needed for zero-land farming. This was not limited to Laxmi’s family but many other poor families in the community.

Looking at Laxmi’s growing interest in her studies and club activities, her mother encouraged her to study further. World Vision also supported her admission to eleventh grade after she finished her schooling.

Today, Laxmi is not only pursuing higher studies but also tutoring deprived children like her in the recreational classes she attended for many years. She has volunteered to tutor children studying in grades one and two every weekday. Here she helps young children with their homework. She looks forward to doing this every evening after she gets back from college. She manages to take time out of her busy schedule of going to college and doing household chores just to teach children in need.

She says, “I used to take these classes when I was young and now I feel happy to be teaching in one. I am inspired by social organisations like World Vision to work for the needy and I want to be able to do more for children of our community.”

Bimala is very happy to see her daughter grow into becoming a confident girl and wishes her other daughters also had the same opportunities Laxmi has had. She says, “Due to our economic condition and lack of awareness, three of my daughters dropped out of school at an early age, but Laxmi got a chance to participate in various activities organised by World Vision and learned new things and is still studying. I will work hard and do my best to support her decision to be more educated.”

Parbati Khadka, Community Development Facilitator, World Vision says, “We are happy to see Laxmi’s desire to help educate children from her background, by volunteering to teach in the same recreational classes which she used to attend many years ago. She has set an example to many young girls in her community through her involvement in many social activities.”

World Vision has been supporting a local partner, Community Development Society, in running 18 recreational classes in 3 VDCs and 4 wards of KMC in Kathmandu District. These classes are organised for 2-3 hours in the evenings, targeted especially at students of government schools and poor families who do not have access to recreational facilities, outdoor activities and tutorials. It is conducted by volunteers, some paid, but some like Laxmi who want to give back to their community. Around 3,000 children are benefiting from these classes.

Laxmi aspires to do more for her community in the coming days. She says, “I plan to study further and work for a social cause in future.” She is determined to work hard and become independent and help children like her understand the value of education.