According to data compiled for the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the percentage of young women who do not complete secondary school has decreased dramatically. Rajasthan is performing below the national average in school enrolment ratio and our team decided to pay a visit. The location was Tanot Village, Thar Desert Rajasthan, one of the remotest locations in the entire country.

‘Kutcha houses’ made of straw, stones, and wood were the common sight and we could conclude that the PM-AAWAS Yojana was yet to penetrate this region of Rajasthan. When we arrived, a group of children gathered around us thinking that we were there from the media. To their surprise we brought them food and clothing. Their gleaming eyes were enough to tell us about their daily plight.

The next thing we did was to travel to each and every house of the village and interact with the elderly and earning members about their children’s future. We educated them about Right to Education and how other villages in the country had changed their fate by sending their kids to school. We also emphasised on girl child education and the penal consequences accompanied with sending them for labour work at such a young age.

We conducted a series of workshops and the community engagement was highly positive. Many even signed up with our team and we keep a check on them from time to time.