When Join My Village started looking for an Udaan school to support in India, we looked no further than the town of Mewat in Haryana province.  Only a 2 hour drive from New Delhi, Mewat is very different from India’s capital in terms of infrastructure, culture, and traditions.  The population is overwhelmingly Muslim and the area boasts of few opportunities outside of mining and farming. The overall literacy rate of Mewat district is 44% but the real tragedy lies in the female literacy rate which is only 24.26%.

Introducing a new school that is unlike anything else can be hard but tremendously worthwhile.  For the team starting this Udaan school, it was critical to get the buy-in of the community.  Outreach workers visited potential students and families and talked about the importance of girl’s education.  For some families, there was grave concern – would the girls be safe from home?  Would an educated girl be worth less on the marriage market?  What would be the impact of this school on their religious education?  

But the team persevered and kept working hard.  They found a tremendous location for the school – a private home owned by a high ranking official in the Ministry of Education who agreed to loan the house to the Udaan school.  They talked to Mothers about their dreams for their daughters.  And they talked to girls who were motivated and excited about learning.  

By mid-November 2010, 55 girls had registered – much lower than the goal of 100.  So the team held an open house at the school and invited the registered students, their families and prospective families to come to the school.  School leaders were joined by local education officials and a team from Uttar Pradesh’s Udaan to answer questions about the school and have the families better understand the Udaan school.   Enrolled students talked to prospective students about their short experience at the school.  How they liked their teachers.  And even the food!  

Their excitement was infectious.  By 2 December, the school had 102 girls enrolled.  

These girls are leaders in Mewat.  Afseena is proud to show us how she can now write her name.  Waseema is excited to learn a new game. And Asmeena loves to learn new poems. And we get the opportunity to share their journey with them.