Scholarship for dreamers

Hope Unlimited started 2023 by giving scholarships to five girls. Here is a short summary of three of the girls. (To the left is a 'thank you' note from one of the girls.) 

Ponnuthai is a Grade 11 student who wants to become a nurse. A natural leader, the 15-year-old likes to play tennis and is good at dancing. Ponnuthai is a teenager with dreams like any girl her age. Her present reality though is grim. Ponnuthai lives with her family in a slum in Madurai. Her father works as a sanitary worker, a job traditionally earmarked for a marginalised community, the job defined by the caste. He is underpaid also because he is not a regular employee of the municipal body. Ponnuthai’s mother also works occasionally as a sanitary worker and when there is no work, she picks waste from the street to sell at scrap shops. Ponnuthai’s father is an alcoholic and squanders his meagre earnings on buying alcohol. The family lives in dire conditions and even resorts to eating left overs disposed of by restaurants. Despite the grim living conditions, Ponnuthai’s dreams and aspirations burn bright. 

Meenakshi likes the colour red and loves eating strawberries. A bright girl who spreads cheer, the 15-year-old is part of a family of four that lives in a slum in Melavasal, Madurai. Meenakshi’s father drives an auto for a living and her mother picks waste on the street; their income barely sustains the family. A recent illness has forced the mother to stay at home, further diminishing their meagre income. Meenakshi has big dreams though. She loves going to school and wants to join the Indian Administrative Services to become a bureaucrat. 

Santhiya likes drawing and is a good artist. The 15-year-old, who also likes silambam, a traditional martial art, wants to become a teacher. She lives with her parents and sister in Jaihindapuram, Madurai. Santhiya’s father works as a sanitary worker in a private bank in Madurai. Though he works long hours, the job does not pay enough for the family to meet its basic needs. Moreover, Santhiya’s mother had to be treated for depression and the family has incurred a huge debt on account of the medical expenditure and other needs.

Vidyiyal, an organisation working on child rights issues based out of Madurai, identified these five girls who are from the most marginalized communities.  Hope Unlimited supports each of these five girls with a scholarship that will hopefully help them stay in school. 

(January 2023)