My Visit to Prerna Girls School During the 20162017 ... AWS
My Visit to Prerna Girls School During the 20162017 school year, our high school’s Asha club made the decision to fund the education of six students, ranging from seventh grade to twelfth grade, from Prerna Girls School in Lucknow. Prerna Girls School, which goes up to twelfth grade, is a school for girls from underprivileged backgrounds. All the students come from very poor families, but the six students we are funding are facing financial difficulties worse than most. Thus, our club has been working to pay for their tuition so that their financial problems don’t prevent them from coming to school. After we spent a year raising money for the students, I was lucky enough to visit the school and the girls themselves during a trip to India in August. The principal, Ms. Rakhee Panjwani, showed me around the building, which functions as a regular private school for students of higher socioeconomic status in the morning, but becomes Prerna Girls School from 26 PM. (To put this into perspective, imagine if students who can afford to go to ABRHS all left the building at 2:18 every day, and students of a lower socioeconomic status used the school for a few hours.) The afternoon timing is deliberate, since most of the students work as domestic help in the mornings and evenings. Thus, the afternoon arrangement allows them to attend school while having time to work and provide for their families. This way, they don’t have to choose between their education and their livelihood, and I was really impressed by how the school is tailored to its students’ needs. I was also very impressed by the bridge courses that the school offers for students who stopped coming to school for some time and now wish to return. As we walked through the building, Ms. Panjwani briefly stopped in a class for students of all ages who were preparing to reenter fourth and fifth grade. She introduced me to one of these students and said, “You would never guess just by looking at her, but she is the mother of four children.” She went on to explain that the student is 23 years old and had her first child at age 13. Now she is a young single mother of four who has to balance work and kids and yet she still chooses to come to school. I was so amazed by her story, and I think it’s incredible that Prerna gives women in similar situations the opportunity complete their education despite the huge challenges they face. Afterwards, I was able to meet five of the six girls that our club has been funding. Just a few minutes into the meeting, I already knew that we made the right choice by deciding to fund
Photo includes Sandeep Pandey, who put us in touch with the students; Ms. Panjwani, principal of Prerna; and the five girls (left to right: Radha, Anjali, Sunita, Rekha, Lakshmi) these students; I was struck by how energetic, bright, sweet, and confident they were. It was all the more amazing knowing that despite their financial problems and difficult home lives, they still attend school with such enthusiasm so they can fulfill their goals of becoming doctors and singers and nurses and teachers. In addition to telling us about themselves, they were curious about what I like to do and
whether I like coming to India. Talking to them in person was such an amazing experience and I am so grateful to have a part in helping them complete their education at Prerna. After meeting the students, we stopped by the principal’s office, where we were able to learn more about the school. Ms. Panjwani told us that after graduating twelfth grade, each student at Prerna is provided with enough money for two years’ tuition for undergraduate college studies, which most students complete at a nearby college. A few students are even selected to attend a community college in the United States, which I was really excited to hear. Beyond just academic preparation, though, Prerna makes sure that the students will leave the school with skill sets that can land them a stable income in the future. Computer skills and art are mandatory, since these skills can result in a lot of jobs. I really appreciated the school’s practical, effective methods to ensure that the students will be able to care for themselves long after they leave Prerna. Something else I found incredible was that the school curriculum and Dr. Panjwani herself are very proactive in addressing the cultural and social issues that can prevent girls from coming to school. Walking through the building, I noticed several posters about sexism and casteism, issues that affect many Prerna students daily. I was really impressed by how devoted the school is to the success of its students by teaching them not only the academic skills they need, but also the life skills they will need to overcome the social obstacles they face due to their caste and gender. One anecdote the principal told us, which blew me away, was about the problem of child marriage; many students were leaving Prerna to get married when they had barely reached high school age. However, Prerna students put on cultural events such as plays and performances for their parents, and one month the theme of the event was child marriage. After seeing their daughters’ play about the downsides of child marriage, many parents actually changed their minds about making their daughters leave school to get married. I was really amazed by this success story; it’s so incredible to think of how many girls were spared child marriage and allowed to continue their education because of the play. Convincing parents to let their daughters go to school instead of forcing them into marriage means that Prerna has made a tangible impact on society and the next generation. I walked out of Prerna Girls School completely in awe of both the students and the school. There is no doubt in my mind that every penny that helps these amazing students stay at Prerna Girls School is one hundred percent worth it.
