Manju & Nikita

10-year-old Manju starts her day at 5:00 am helping her mother bring water from a location several kilometers away back to their family. Afterwards, she helps her mother feed their goats.

Because Manju has a copious amount of housework, she can only go to school after all her work has been completed, so she cannot attend school on a regular basis.

Thanks to the generous support of donors Varshney Family Foundation and Richa & Atul Aggarwal Foundation, Manju and her sister Nikita will be able to pursue her dreams.

A new rainawter harvesting tank is under construction for Manju’s family. After the tank has been completed in January 2018, Manju will have time to devote to her education — she loves studying and aspires to complete her schooling, pursue college, and become a nurse or a teacher. In addition, Manju will be able to cycle to school and will receive school supplies and tuition for school fees.

Finally, Manju and Nikita’s family will be able to grow vegetables using the khadin method; which uses rainwater for agriculture. As a result, Manju and Nikita’s family will have nutritious food and be able to earn additional income.

Gopi Devi’s eyes sparkle when asked how she feels about her daughters, Manju and Nikta, attending school. She beams with joy while explain that her daughters are now teaching her to read and write. She is now able to sign her name.

Gopi’s husband works as a mason while Gopi takes care of household chores. Previously, Gopi and her daughters had to walk long distances to collect water from a pond located 2 km from her home during the scorching summer heat. However, thanks to their brand new taanka they have enough water for 7-8 months.

Gopi is also very excited about her garden. She is now growing nutritious fruits and vegetables using the Khadin method. Previously, she was only able to grow bajra (millet) and till (sesame) because of the dry climate.

The girls like to study English and Hindi at school and are glad that they don’t have to walk for an hour to school thanks to their bicycles. Now their commute is 15 minutes. Both Manju and Nikita dream of becoming teachers whey they grow up.

Gopi and her family are deeply touched by everyone’s generosity to make their lives better.