article by Gopal

We were thrilled in June when our graduates this year (four girls, one boy) in the Kapur Scholarship Program did well on their college entrance exams. These kids are B+ to A+, with three girls going to a commerce college and one going to a teacher’s college. The boy wants to join an engineering college, still waiting for admission response.

But when I arrived in Patiala July 8, I was dismayed to find that one girl had been pulled out of the college plan by her father. The rigid deadline for college admittance was over. Still, I requested a meeting with the high school principal, head teacher, the father and the girl, Lata*. We were deeply concerned that the father was planning to marry her off—a common solution for poor parents of girls tired of worrying about keeping them safe.

The father is a rickshaw driver and barely making enough for his wife and two daughters. They live in a tiny space, and the father works 12 hours a day in blistering heat, bicycling customers around town in his Rickshaw. He told us that he’s decided to take his family back to his village because of rising expenses, where he will make clay pots to sell.

There is no college for Lata* or high school nearby for the younger daughter who is in the IX grade. So they will be put to work in the fields and that will end their education.

The younger girl is an A+ student, impressing the teachers with her abilities. The parents want them in school; they just cannot afford to live in the city. As an incentive, I offered the father a stipend of Rs.1000 ($25) per month as long as his girls attend college/school. We are working on getting Lata* admission into a technical college. The younger sister is now in Kapur scholarship program, relieving the father of her high school costs as well. Great kids!

* name changed to protect the identity of student