Dhara, currently a pre-med student.
In a rural area of Gujarat on India’s west coast, nearly 200 adolescent girls are enrolled in Eklavya Model Residential School of Muni Seva Ashram (MSA), a C2C partner that serves poverty-stricken tribal communities. At MSA, nearly 100 girls participate in English language classes and C2C’s TECHLAB program, which is made possible by our donors and generous grant funding from the Guru Krupa Foundation. In these classes, students have the opportunity to develop strong reading, writing, and computer skills as well as to learn important life skills like confidence, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.
Dhara Rathva, 18, enrolled in MSA when she was eleven years old. After seven years at MSA, she is now on track to become a medical student, pursuing her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine degree, equivalent to a pre-med major in the United States). Dhara aims to help disadvantaged people who live in rural villages, just as she once did. Her education with C2C empowered her to pursue her dreams and give back to her community. Like her parents, Dhara values education:
“It allows people to live their lives independently,” she says.
With C2C’s assistance, young women at MSA step outside of their comfort zones. Seventeen-year-old Pragati Rathva participated in the Each One, Teach One program, where older girls teach and mentor younger students after school. Pragati initially found teaching younger students to be challenging, but ultimately it was incredibly rewarding and became her favorite of C2C’s programs. This community-driven approach is especially valuable because it allows younger students to see people like themselves succeeding and thriving. Pragati is grateful to C2C for uplifting her and other girls through education, saying, “[C2C] helps us and gives us a chance to shine.” She is now studying for the NEET, an admissions exam for medical school.
Rakshaben Rathva has also chosen to pursue a medical school degree. Like Dhara and Pragati, she began classes at MSA when she was eleven years old. She enjoyed the English and computer classes, and she was especially excited to learn how to use the internet. She is grateful to her C2C teachers for teaching her good values and respect for her culture. She is also in university now, working toward her medical degree by pursuing a pre-med major.
Dhara, Pragati, and Rakshaben are three of many girls and young women who have had the opportunity to learn and thrive at MSA with C2C curriculums. All three of them are empowered to pursue higher education, with the hope of becoming doctors, and ultimately give back to their communities.
“An educated girl has direction,” Pragati says. “She has hope. She will become a mentor to other girls.”