Light and hope in Usha’s life
The first thought occupying Tejo Devi and Usha’s minds after they get up in the morning would be about sourcing and collecting water for their family’s drinking and washing needs and other household chores. Tejo Devi has spent her entire life living through this back-breaking drudgery and Usha, her 15-year-old daughter also had to go through the same routine of fetching water from wells and ponds. This, in addition to helping her mother with other domestic chores until GRAVIS intervened with its education and water support initiatives. Tejo Devi’s family belongs to an extremely underprivileged and oppressed Meghwal community. They reside in Nagnechi Nagar village which is 40 kms away from the Phalodi town of Jodhpur district. Their main source of income generation is through mining activities and rain-fed agriculture.
Fetching water is a laborious exercise and because of that Usha would neglect going to school. Her attendance had decreased tremendously over a period of few years.
With the support of interventions launched by GRAVIS, USHA is now able to attend her school regularly and concentrate on studying with a carefree mind. There is a taanka (underground drinking water storage tank) built near her house. This has not only made her family water secure but also has reduced her drudgery of fetching water to a great extent. Currently, she is in the 9th standard and uses her bicycle to cover the 6 km long distance to reach her school. Earlier she would commute to her school on foot. Her attendance has surprisingly improved as per the latest records from her school. In the evening once she is back home, she uses the solar kit to study. When the team at GRAVIS met Usha, she fondly said, “I feel that I have wings now. My life has become easier with the bicycle. I go to school on it and use it to move around for other chores. The bicycle scholarship and the solar kit have made me happy and changed my life for better. I want to study more and do good. I am very thankful for this help to me and my family.”
