Winds of change
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear,” said Nelson Mandela.
Fifteen girls from across the country, who were recently awarded DLF Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards, a school-level recognition programme for volunteer community service, have not just conquered their fear but won the battle for others also.
One of the award recipients, Rekha Meena, 14 years old, who won Bronze medal, fought against eve-teasing, which was one of the most deep-rooted reasons for girls from her community to drop out of school. “There were instances when I thought of discontinuing my education but then my teachers at Satya Bharti School encouraged me and convinced my parents to fight against eve-teasing,” says Rekha, who recently topped her class.
If Meera has shown the way to other girls, thanks to 12-year-old Arti Verma, many untouchables who had never set foot in the village temple are now allowed to pray inside the temple. It started with a festival when Arti saw her childhood friend Babita with her mother witnessing puja from outside the temple. Arti felt really bad and pulled Babita and her mother inside the temple. “Thereafter, I started gathering people to educate them against the evil called untouchability. Slowly mindsets of the people started changing and they appreciated my efforts,” says Arti.
Twelve-year-old Sapna Chauhan believes change begins at home. “Child marriage ruins many young girls’ lives and when I saw my friend, who wanted to study further, being forced into a child marriage I decided to stand up against it,” adds Sapna, who prepared a play to create awareness about high fertility and unwanted pregnancies among adolescent brides. “Our play focused on adverse effects of child marriage. We used to campaign everyday for two hours. Initially everyone, including my parents, tried to stop me but slowly they started supporting my cause,” adds Sapna.
Talking about one silver and four bronze medals won by Satya Bharti schools, Vijay Chadda, CEO, Bharti Foundation says, “Our children have proved that giving back to society is not an exclusive preserve of the privileged and we can all contribute as part of our ‘Individual Responsibility’.”
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