5-year-old Sunil’s older siblings used to attend school, but when we first met him, he wasn’t enrolled in education anywhere. His parents said he was ill and weak, and they couldn’t figure out why, so they let him be at home, instead of in school.
15 years ago Sunil’s father had moved to Mumbai from the south of India to learn a living. He settled in one of the poorest but fastest-growing slums north of Mumbai. As a skilled labourer he could find daily-wage work easily, but it was just enough to put food on the table and educate his two older children. By the time it was Sunil’s turn, they couldn’t afford education for one more child.
Sunil’s parents were excited to learn about our Beacon Learning Centre that could help little Sunil become literate, at no cost to them. Sunil’s mother couldn’t control her happiness! She immediately enrolled him in Junior Kindergarten.
Throughout the academic year, Sunil attended our classes regularly. His teacher remembers him as a little naughty in class, but genuinely eager to learn.
When the first lockdown hit India in March 2020, your gifts enabled Sunil to continue his studies online from home as his family owned a working smartphone. But for Sunil’s father, life turned incredibly difficult. Even though he was skilled, he lost his job, and for months he could find no work. The family found it hard to survive. That’s when your gifts reached out to them with grocery kits every month and hearty nutritious snacks for the children, until February this year.
During the lockdown, something incredible happened to Sunil’s mother Mariyamma. She had never had the chance to complete her education as a little girl, and she found it difficult to read or write as an adult. She was dependent on others to fill official documents for her and used her thumb impression to sign off on government papers.
But during the lockdown, Mariyamma got the opportunity to join Vision Rescue’s adult Literacy Mission program. She was absolutely determined to learn what she couldn’t as a little girl. Within a few months she could write letters, and even sign her name.
Today, Mariyamma has opened a bank account and confidently written her name on the bank’s papers. She even signed off with a pen on all her official documents. No more thumbprints for Mariyamma!
It is your donations that have powered so much change in this family. From empowering Sunil with education, to feeding their family and even educating Mariyamma, your gifts have been priceless tokens of hope for this family in these tough times.
Thank you!
