A second chance is an opportunity to take a shot at something again, but not everyone gets this. I got an opportunity to visit the Second Chance classes in Jaipur’s urban areas in February 2024. We went to the Banda Basti area, which is in a sub-locality in Nahari ka Naka in Jaipur. Most families in this community are engaged in the manufacturing of lac bangles.
During the visit, I met Nasreen, a 40-year-old woman, who had enrolled into the Second Chance program to resume her studies after a long break. Her childhood was in Hyderabad; her education, however, got disrupted after subsequent relocation to Jaipur. With the Second Chance program, Nasreen has found an opportunity to fulfill her long-awaited dream of completing secondary education.
Nasreen had dropped out of grade 3 and she has started coming to the second chance centre. Nasreen’s daughters, Nausheen (18 years) and Iqra (16 years), had first started to attend classes at the centre, and after multiple conversations with the faculty, Nasreen decided to come to the centre to resume her studies. The faculty informed her about the number of women participating in the program. Initially, Nasreen’s documents were incomplete but with the continuous efforts of our faculty, her documents were prepared. Nasreen and her daughters now balance household chores with their studies, while also making a living out of making lac bangles.
Thousands of poor women who have the Janadhar Card have received smartphones from the Rajasthan state government under the Mukhyamantri Digital Seva Yojana. Nasreen also knows how to operate smartphones and search for the required information on YouTube. She is a curious person and when she doesn’t understand something in class, she turns to YouTube to explore those topics in depth.
Nasreen is a very active individual and her determination shows hope for others. She puts in efforts to engage other women from the community. Along with the faculty, she goes to the community to inspire other women. Nasreen is a role model for other women, her story is an example showing the importance of education and getting family support to overcome social constraints. She is not alone in this journey, like her, many women and girls are completing their education through the second chance program.
I have spoken to Nasreen and her daughters about their experiences and how they are managing their studies along with the household chores and work. They manage their responsibilities with the support of each other. Their dedication to education shows the power of family and the value of education.
The major challenge for the team in the community was the inability of students to attend classes regularly due to their involvement in bangle-making work. However, due to the hard work of the faculty and the second chance team, gradually the community is understanding the importance of education.
Education and family support are essential to break social barriers. The Second Chance program is a great initiative that provides a chance to those who could not complete their secondary education for various reasons. The program provides hope to those girls and women to restart their studies. Thanks to all the facilitators and team leaders of the Second Chance program as they try to connect girls and women to the classes with their efforts and hard work. The learners feel happy and confident after coming to the second chance centres, they have found friends too.
–Afshan Perveen, Sr Associate, Organisational Effectiveness
PS: This write-up has been published in its original form without any editing or alterations. Any grammatical errors, typos, or stylistic variations are preserved to maintain the authenticity of the author’s work. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and do not reflect the views or positions of the organisation.