The Story of Mangabhai

Mangabhai is a 35-year-old Dalit man with three children and a wife.  He works as a laundryman in a town far from Antarjal village.  He cannot afford to send his children to school. During the team’s regular house-to-house visitation, they met Mangabhai and heard about his difficult living situation. They offered to grant full scholarships to two of his children – his daughter Soni and his son Devji – so they could attend classes.  However, Mangabhai said he was not willing for his daughter to go to school.  He felt that a girl did not need education and that she should work at the home.  This saddened the team members and they continued to visit Mangbhai to try to educate him in the importance of sending his daughter to school.

Eventually, to the team’s delight, he agreed to allow Soni to come to school.  Since she began studying, she has done very well and her parents have taken a keen interest in her academic performance.  The DEC staff members hope they can be a strong testimony to the rest of the community on the importance of sending both boys and girls to school.  The teachers feel this is the first step toward the full transformation of the Dalit community in Antarjal.