If there is a will there is a way- Rajni Devi proves it by her own life

  Rajni Devi is from Dhindsa village, Kauli, Punjab. The family is very poor and their only asset is their temporarily built house.  She lost her father early in her childhood. Her mother is the only bread winner working in a honey factory on daily basis fetching very little wage. But she continues to work as she has no other means to support the family. Rajni has another younger brother who is undergoing training in carpentry.

Rajni has been sponsored from class four onwards. Now she has reached B.A final with the help of Fratelli Dimenticati Onlus through its sponsorship programme. Her immediate aim in life is to go for B.Ed and become a teacher as she has the right aptitude and interest for teaching.  Realizing that her sickly mother can not support to meet all her educational expenses and also of her brother, she has organized a tuition centre in her own village and she takes tuition classes for almost 20 children from her own village after she comes back from the college. A nominal fee is collected from each student and that is an additional income for her to meet her college expenses.

Rajni is different from other students. She says she has undergone lots of trouble and hardship in life as she was born in a poor family. In addition to that, she lost her father early in her life. As a consequence, she never enjoyed real happiness of childhood. The negative experience and scar in her life has made her more determined to become a successful person in life. She says “I have an aim in life and I am working hard to achieve that goal and ready to face what ever obstacle that may come on my way. I want to help my ailing mother and help my brother to complete his course so that he also can find a better future. I want to get out of this cycle of poverty, developing my talents which God has given to me. I don’t want to brood over the past but look forward to something better in life”. After getting into a teaching job, she wants to go for post graduation and become a professor in English language.

She is not far away from her dream as she is constantly striving to reach that goal with added determination, enthusiasm, hard work and self belief. The spirit, the will to win and the will to excel are the things that are special to her life.

“What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds” -  Wayne Dyer.

BOSCO began its educational intervention in 2001 by assisting children from socially and economically deprived communities in 13 centers in north India. We have been able to support about 5300 school going children. The sponsorship program is supported by Fratelli Dimenticati and other funding Agencies. The beneficiaries are mainly the tribal children, children from migrant communities and from the low income groups. Majority of them stay in the hostels as their houses are far and in remote villages where no educational facilities are available. The poor children are able to attend school through this program. Educational expenses like school fees, uniform, books, medical support and other related expenses are met by the project. At Camps, social and cultural programs are conducted to bring out their inherent talents and to enhance their sociability and sense of responsibility towards the society. Besides these activities, Annual Sports Day, Exposure visits and study tours, competitions such as Quiz, Talent shows are carried out to give the best to the least. There has been a 30% increase in the number of school going children. Moreover, school dropouts have reduced considerably.

Education has given a new hope to the illiterate villagers specially the girl child. Their interest in studies and participation in outdoor-indoor activities and co-curricular activities help them to grow both intellectually and physically. Fratelli Dimenticati has a special support program for the street children at Ashalayam. 156 Children are provided with shelter, medical, educational, recreational, developmental and cultural assistance.