“I used to feel bad about my low performance” – Pramila's story

Pramila, 13, is a ‘Little Sister’ on VSO’s Sisters for Sisters’ Education project in Surkhet, Nepal. Her family’s economic condition is poor. Pramila used to take the lion’s share of domestic work to allow her parents to focus on generating a livelihood, leaving her very little time for homework and study.

Since Pramila started being mentored by ‘Big Sister’ Rama, her attendance, academic performance and confidence have greatly improved. She was also given exercise books, pens and school uniform, which provided additional motivation to go to school.

I am studying at grade eight, but before I rarely used to be present at school. The school is far from my home and I have to cross through the forest and the river Bheri, which means it can easily take 45 minutes to reach my lessons. In monsoon time, the

river flows high and I can’t cross it at all. It’s not safe for me to travel to school early in the morning or late in the evening.

Before I joined this project, I had to spend a lot of time doing chores at home. I also had to do things to help my elder brother. Because I am a daughter, my parents used to ask me to focus on household work. After all I have to get married one day.

Also, my right hand got injured when I fell into a stove when I was two. It makes it difficult to use my right hand – I cannot write for longer than ten minutes at a time with my right hand. When I miss school I am sad; I loved playing with friends at school, rather than working at the house.

When I was selected as a Little Sister, I got a Big Sister, Rama, to support me. She inspired me to go to school every day and talked to my parents to convince them to send me to school. She used to visit four times a week at my house and helped me do my school homework. I am very thankful for her.

I used to feel bad about my low school performance. I was too shy to ask any question to teachers. After I took part in different games and interaction programmes, I have learned that I need to speak up and be active. I am inspired by my Big Sister to be good in study and extra activities. Today, I am regular at school and very happy to be in the school. I like to study and be with friends and my dream is to be a teacher so I can serve in my community.

Find out more

• More information about our work in Nepal
• More information about our work supporting girls' education in Nepal

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