Rekha’s leap of courage

From a poor family of four sisters, Rekha, then a quiet timid girl, now 18 years old, joined the Avishkar centre Sitlapur village of Nichlaul block in Maharjganj, U.P. Her father had passed away when she was young and hence she could not study further. After joining the centre, she slowly started gaining confidence and picked up every skill taught very quickly. She started Hindi typing as well. When the Avishkar centre had covered all adolescent girls for the LSE training, it was decided that the centre would be shifted to another location where the concentration of dropout adolescent girls was high. This was disappointing news for the girls at the centre.

Amidst all the sad hopeless faces, Rekha decided that this was not the end. She had made up her mind to initiate something similar in the village which would continue imparting skills and confidence among the girls of the village. On completing her LSE training, she joined a skill development course to learn tailoring and soft toy making. She then took the lead and conducted a survey to know about the girls in her village who would be interested to learn sewing. 40 girls showed interest. She got two sewing machines and started sewing classes in the same panchayat premises where the Avishkar Centre was previously established. Rekha’s centre continues to be not just a skill development centre but also a place where adolescent girls from the village come together, discuss their issues and concerns and learn from each other.

Rekha knew that quitting was not an option. One person’s initiative and one person’s courage is now benefitting many!