Gayathri, Coimbatore

Hope Unlimited is providing a monthly scholarship for Gayathri, 17. Here is her story:

“I want to study. I want to bring changes in society. Only with education will I be able to change my life and that of others.” Throughout the conversation with Gayathri, these words formed a recurrent theme, almost a mantra that the teenager kept repeating. 

The seventeen-year-old, from Sinaripalayam village, Avinashi block in Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu, comes from one of the most socially and economically marginalized communities in India. Gayathri’s father died when she was a child and her mother works as a construction worker. Her elder sister could not continue her education after she finished Grade 12 and now works in a banian (inner vest) making unit in Tiruppur. Citing their precarious existence, Gayathri’s mother wants her to start working too once she finishes school. The girl, who is now in the last year of secondary school, nurses a different dream though: she wants to become a teacher. 

Initiated into child rights by the Centre for Social Education and Development, an NGO, Gayathri uses the knowledge she has gained to talk to other children in her school, in her community and also to the adults about violations of child rights. 

The teenager recalls the time when her teachers at school would order the children to wash their lunch boxes and tea cups. When her teacher asked her to do this, Gayathri told her politely but firmly that “I am here to study, not wash your cup. Please don’t ask me to do this, I have rights. Else, I will report you!” The teachers in her school stopped asking the children to do menial work. 

As a member of the eco club, Gayathri has learnt the importance of protecting the environment. “We actively spread the message about the harmful effects of using plastic. We have put up boards outside shops warning people not to use plastic. The shop keepers also do not use plastic bags anymore,” says the teenager. 

Whether it is talking about the importance of having a toilet or creating environmental awareness, Gayathri takes on a leadership role to spread the message in her community. “When we talk, the message spreads from children to children, to teachers, to parents and this is how change happens slowly. What is important is we should respect each other, talk and solve problems,” says the wise teenager. 

(November 2019)