Rising Above

Hello my friends! I am Kamal Kumari (name changed), a 13-year-old girl from a small village of Hardiya in Raxaul Block in Bihar. I want to share my story of how I faced a difficult time in my education but managed to rise above it.

In class 8, I made a mistake and got involved in some teenage affection with a classmate. When my mother found out, she was really upset and decided to stop my studies. I was grounded and couldn’t go anywhere, which made me feel so hopeless.

On the other hand, I was the member of one of Adolescent Group which was formed by the organization BVHA under “Right to be a Girl” project. My mother also stopped to attend group meeting also. After continuous absent from group meetings, my friends from the groups were worried about me and came to my house to understand why I had stopped attending school as well as group meetings. They spoke about how good I was in my studies and requested my mother to let me continue. But my mother was firm in her decision. She was worried that my actions might bring shame to our family’s honour.

When my friends came with the Project person Pratima Kumari came to talk to my mother and explained to her the importance of education, especially for girls like me. Pratima told my mother how education could make me self-independent and take care of myself and our family in the future. Pratima’s words had a deep impact on my mother, and she agreed to give me another chance. She wanted me to promise not to make the same mistake again.

I was so grateful for this second chance and promised to make the most of it. I knew the value of education and how it could change my life. With renewed determination, I went back to school, eager to excel in my studies.