Hope Returns To Toran Lodha, (Ahmadpur, MP)

A GIDF 14 year old Toran Lodha is an exceptionally good student from village Ahmadpur in Madhya Pradesh. He dreams of becoming a Mechanical Engineer some day, despite the fact that he hails from an extremely low income family. He believes, given an opportunity, he will reach his target through scholarships. Toran dreams against all odds.

But yes, while dreaming, he didn’t factor in one major obstacle. A bout of polio in his childhood left him permanently disabled. Although this doesn’t hamper his mental faculties, but he definitely can’t cycle long distances. Toran’s village school is only till class eight. To complete his higher education, he has to go to the Government Senior Secondary School at Raghogarh, which is 11 km away. From his impoverished village, other students cover this distance by cycling. That option was closed for Toran. His motivation for further studies was totally shattered.

After Toran was persuaded by friends to join our e-Shiksha and life skills education batch, our field educator came to know about his problem. He observed Toran’s eagerness to learn and his ability to pick up complicated topics at ease. Encouraged by his performance, the educator requested his friends to help him, to which they readily agreed. Toran came out of his self-imposed exile, and joined the high school.

Now the other students of his village take turns to pick him up for school. Toran Singh has resumed his studies, and his ambition of becoming an engineer has returned. He now believes it’s just a matter of time and perseverance. We believe that too.