In Roopa’s home, the rapid developments that seem to have taken place in Bellary district in the past decade can be seen within one generation. While her eldest sister Shilpa has little education and married at an early age, her second elder sister Deepa completed her Pre-University Course and is a teacher at an anganwadi or day care center in the small village of Bukkasagara. Roopa herself dreams of becoming a teacher one day and pursuing that aim means she must follow a strict schedule.

    “I get up every morning around 5 a.m. to help my mother clean house,” she says. Currently in 9th standard, the fourteen year old then attends the Govt. High School, Bukkasagara between 9:40 a.m. and 4:40 in the evening. By the time her day is over, she will have swept the house, attended tuitions for further coaching in her lessons and found time to study a little extra after finishing her homework. Roopa’s father Mallikarjuna supports the family through his job as a construction worker. Her mother, Meenakshi, contributes to the income working in the agricultural fields that surround Bukkasagara. Roopa is one of the lucky children, her parents are able to educate her. Of the 121 million children* in the world who are out of school, two thirds are girls. Educating a girl child can have serious developmental impact on a society and this link has long been proved. A 10 percentage point increase in girls’primary enrolment can be expected to decrease infant mortality by 4.1 deaths per 1,000 according to a United Nation’s report according to a United Nation’s report.

* stats from: https://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats