Women

Jayalakshmi T. 

Jayalakshmi’s husband is disabled and unable to work.  They have 3 children, a son and 2 daughters.  Jayalakshmi is the only wage earner.  Working as a coolie, a day labourer, she was barely able to support her family with a monthly income of   Rs.900 (€16 or $23), which was not sufficient enough to buy food, clothes and  school supplies for her children. It seemed that her son would have to leave school at age 12 and go to work to help support the family.  But education for her children was Jayalakshmi’s goal.  She joined an SPPD Self Help Group (SHG) in 2001.  Starting with an internal loan from the Group she has been able to slowly build up her earning capability.  She has now had 4 separate loans, the largest being for Rs. 10,000.  She has proven herself by paying off these loans on time.  She has become an owner of goats.  Her son completed 12th standard and now has a job in Gujarat. Her daughters are in 10th and 8th standards.  For each goat she purchases she can generate an income of Rs 3,000 within 6 months. She is very proud of her accomplishments and of being a member of an SPPD SHG.

Children

S. Manoj, was born on 25th June 2001.  His father is a coolie who can only bring home food on days when he gets work.  The family lives a ‘hand to mouth’ existence.  Manoj struggled in school but the idea of paying for supplementary education was unthinkable. The future looked bleak for Manoj until his parents heard about SPPD’s Evening Study Centre ( ESC). Manoj has been attending the ESC in his village now for over a year – he is learning to read and write and planning to be the first in his family to attain these skills.  His parents are enthusiastic about his progress and hope that he will continue his education to 12th standard – Higher Secondary School level. They hope that SPPD will continue to support their son’s education as he moves from grade to grade.

My name is K. Priya and I am 12 years old.  Although I reached 8th standard I was unable to read Tamil properly and was frequently mocked by my fellow students when I made mistakes.   I joined SPPD’s Evening Study Centre in my village this year and using their methods of learning through play, I have now learned to read and write fluently.  I am now excited to learn – I sit in the front row and I take an active part in the class room activities.  Tests and lots of practice have gone a long way to helping correct my mistakes.  My goal is to finish secondary school – 12th Standard.  I want to thank SPPD and my teachers for helping make my goal a reality.