Gita & Dhapu

Gita and Dhapu are 9 and 7 years old respectively. They live in Sanguri village, Jodhpur district of India with their parents and siblings.

Gita and Dhapu’s mother is very stressed because they have 4 daughters to care for and her husband has been searching for work for 2 months.

Despite their tender ages, Gita and Dhapu help their mother to collect water from a local pond and to feed their goats and cows. A rainwater harvesting tank would enable Gita and Dhapu to attend school rather than spending hours to collect water.

Their favorite subject is Hindi and they would like to become a teacher when they grow up.

Kamla Devi, Gita and Dhapu’s mother, has 4 girls who all study together, work together, play together and laugh a lot together. Although Kamla got married early and dropped out of school after Grade 5, she is determined that all her girls should graduate from college.

Her youngest daughters, Geeta and Dhapu, can read and write English so well that it makes Kamla shed tears of happiness. She is very grateful to all the generous people that have helped to transform the lives of her daughters.

Geeta has even taught her mother how to use a cellphone. The girls tell us about all their past health problems from drinking dirty water. Now they have clean water 24/7 thanks to their brand new taanka. Kamla has started to grow fruits and vegetables in her garden using the water from her taanka to irrigate her crops. She ensures that her children eat nutritious vegetables and fruits which would not have been possible before.

Dhapu’s grandfather is also excited by the transformation he sees in his family. He loves to see his granddaughters receiving a good education and would like them to become police officers. The entire family is grateful for all the benefits they have received.