Barathi Girls Hostel

Kutralingam IAS in KGBV ;

Barathi Girls Hostel ;

We need to meet their Food, Accommodation, Dress, Study Materials, 2 Teachers and a cook honorarium, Medical and other expenses.  Our girls expenses met by ODAM. Last year it met by ODAM with the help of volunteers. Major portion has covered by Chris and Tamara; Simon and Ilana from Australia; Meryck and Amanda from UK; Dawn Kane USA.

We need approximately 24 US dollars per month per girl. ODAM expects donation from our previous volunteers and well wishers for our girls study.Friends may utilize PayPal for donation.

Barathi Education Centre ;

KGBV Girls in Madurai

BARATHI GIRLS HOSTEL in 2009 - 2010 

Education – The pathway out of poverty and achieving human rights 

These are just a few of the many stories that they all share in common. All of these girls come from homes, where their parents are unable to support them, as a result of living far below the poverty line. Without obtaining an education the girls have few options to alleviate the poverty that consumes their existence. For them, an education is the gateway to a new life.   

 These girls have overcome many obstacles to get where they are today. They have defied the odds and are strong resilient girls and young women. . Each day they attend school they are challenging the poverty they have been born into, and deciding not to be victims of their circumstances. These girls are creating a new generation of educated women from Narikudi area. They demonstrate that all girls living in rural remote India deserve the same opportunities despite their gender and socio economic status. 

Each of these young women has a dream. They aspire to be doctors, educators, police women, lawyers, and nurses. However, the most common aspiration is to be respected. They have envisioned a life, when they will walk down the street and people will commend them on their accomplishments. They desire to be role models, to create awareness, and to build a better future for other women, their community and their country.  

Meet Dheepa: 

Dheepa comes from the village of Kandukondanmanickam, she is thirteen years old. She was enrolled in the sixth standard at KGBV Narikudi in August, 2005. She has since successfully completed the eighth standard, and passed her reentrance examination in August 2009. T.Dheepa is the youngest of five children, she has two sisters, and two brothers who are attending college. Her father attempts to support her mother, two brothers, and Dheepa, on the fifty rupees he earns each day as a roofer. This hardly can cover the expenses to eat, much less run a household. Her sisters like many girls in rural Tamil Nadu, stopped attending school after the fifth standard. This is a result of the distance they must travel for school, in addition to the lack of awareness they have regarding education.  

Dheepa faced the same obstacle as her sisters, she was unable to travel the distance to enroll in the sixth standard, which eventually caused her to drop out. After dropping out, she began working in her parent’s house, and assisting her mother with daily chores. Dheepa, however, has been afforded a greater opportunity than her older sisters, as her parents have sought to obtain an education for her. She is a young woman with high ambitions, and a great mind for social services.  

Dheepa, aspires to become a doctor, because, when she sees people who are ill, she is consumed with worry. She wants to be able to make a difference, and she knows the importance that accessibility to medicine plays in rural Tamil Nadu. Her family has been affected by the inaccessibility to medicine, as a majority of families are in rural communities. She wants to play her part in alleviating these circumstances from her friends and family daily life. Since she has been enrolled in KGBV, she has had continual access to medicine, and wishes that each person in her village had the same opportunity as herself.  

When asked what is most important to her, she responded ‘her parents and her education.’ She knows that they love her, and have given her the greatest gift, a chance to get an education. This is a tremendous opportunities for her that will lead to even greater future prospects. Through an education she will be granted the ability to choose, and make choices that will direct her life.   

What she treasures most about KGBV and the Barathi Girls Hostel, is the environment it provides. She has built lasting friendships with her classmates, who provide continual support and encouragement for one another. She also enjoys the caring instruction from teachers who are committed to seeing her succeed in all endeavors she undertakes.  

Meet Panchu Ponnu:

Panchu Ponnu comes from Minakulam, a small village in the Virudunghar district of Tamil Nadu. She is thirteen years old, and has one older sister. Both of her parents work in brick chambers, and earn on average a total of two hundred rupees per day. Panchu Ponnu, is the first woman in her family to be educated. She has already surpassed her father’s education that ended at the fifth standard. She carries her determination, and self-respect close to heart, as it is her driving force.  

When Pachu Ponnu was in the fifth standard, her grandmother became ill, and she dropped out to take care of her. At the age of nine, she left school and she assumed responsibility for her grandmother’s welfare. She took care of her grandmother, until she was enrolled at KGBV Narikudi in August 2005.  

Since coming to KGBV, she has focused 100% on her studies, and improving her chances for a better future. She aspires to be a law enforcement officer, so that she can bring justice to those who are exploited. She wants to build awareness for marginalized groups, who face many disparities, and regular injustice. She plans to fight and illuminate the ills that plague her society, and protect those who cannot protect themselves. She believes this can be her greatest contribution to society.    

Panchu Ponnu, also aspires to be an artist. She has focused on drawing since a young age, as it has provided her with a creative outlet. It is something she cherishes, and hopes to hone through time to share with a greater community.  

Meet Pothumponnu: 

Pothumponnu, is from the village of Kottakkachiyendhal, she is thirteen years old. She was enrolled in the sixth standard at KGBV Narikudi in October 2006. After spending three years enrolled in KGBV, Ponnu has been mainstreamed and is now attending IX Std in Government Higher Secondary School. She currently resides at the Barathi Girls Hostel, with forty-three other students who have successfully completed the three year KGBV program.  

Ponnu comes from a broken home. Although in rural Tamil Nadu separation between husband and wife is uncommon, and widely rejected, there are mitigating circumstances that allow it. These circumstances that permit separation are largely in favor of the male gender, and exclusively benefit this party if it is pursued. If a woman is incapable of conceiving a male child, like Ponnu’s mother she will be viewed as an unsuitable wife.  

When she was four, her father left her mother to marry another woman. Her mother took on sole responsibility for the five girls. Ponnu is the youngest of her sisters. Her two oldest sisters are married, one is working in a brick chamber, and the other residing in the hostel with her. Her mother tried to support the girls through goat rearing, which allows her to earn roughly fifty rupees per day. Similar to her classmate Dheepa, her mother was unable to support the family. After completing the fifth standard, Ponnu dropped out of school and began to do domestic work.   

Until the age of ten, she lived with her mother. She assumed the responsibility of an adult, when she began supporting and looking after her mother. Similar to many of the residents, she was forced to become an adult before ever having an opportunity to be a child. Ponnu’s mother, who has never attended any schooling, she now understands the importance of an education for her children. Her mother has seen her potential, which she continually demonstrates through her commitment. She is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments, and knows Ponnu will make a difference.