Nishita Rajput from Vadodara, Gujarat is a ray of hope for most of the girls from marginalized section of the society. According to Nishita, “The idea for me was to educate as many girls as I can. In times like these when women worldwide are setting an example of excellence, why should any other girl here be left behind just because of poverty.”
Nishita has been working for the education of underprivileged girls since the age of 12. She helps girls in education by taking donations from people. So far in the last ten years, she has paid a fees of Rs 3.25 crore. This year, she has set a target to bear the expenses of the education of 10,000 girls.
Nishita’s father Gulab Singh is also associated with social work. They help the poor and deprived. With his inspiration, Nishita’s desire to do something for the underprivileged girls also arose. She started this campaign in 2010 by paying fees of 151 girls. So far, she has paid the fees of more than 30 thousand girls.
Nishita says, “The education of poor girls is often incomplete due to lack of money. So I thought that I should do something so that their studies are not interrupted. Then I started contacting donors. The money received from them was spent in the education of the girls and my mission has reached here today. My dream is to educate more and more girls to make them self-sufficient.”
She recalls, “In our childhood, we used to visit destitute children in many orphanages. We were allowed to bring the children to our home and introduce them to the environment that they would see in the home of an adopted family. For example, how to deal with family members etc. I saw women working at home with some of their children who did not go to school. Perhaps they could not even go to school, because their poverty did not allow them to. I was sensitive to the society; I thought of taking such children to school. Actually, I was thinking of a plan that could change the lives of thousands of poor children later! In my first attempt, with the help of my father, I ensured the education of a total of 351 children in my area, for which I deposited the fees of all those children annually. I made this arrangement through all the donors of the city.”
“Actually there is no shortage of people who give money for such works, but due to lack of transparency, people are hesitant to donate. I worked on this front. I do not take any money myself and accept checks paid directly to the school or bank accounts of the families of the children in the name of children’s fees. After that, I share the complete information of the child who has received help with the donor. This increased people’s trust in me and soon they started getting help from the country and abroad. As a result, I have delivered many poor children who are unable to study only because of money. My role in society is not limited here. Every day, I deliver food to the lonely 155 elders of the city who have no one to take care of them. I had seen this thought of a Ba (lady like grandmother) eating dry rice,” she added.
Throwing light on the work of Nishitha, Senior citizen Govindbhai Jariya said, “I live alone in a township of Vadodara. There is no source of income. Nishita has been sending me Tiffin for the last three years. I am very grateful to her.”
An elderly woman Damayantiben also praises Nishita’s campaign. Damayantiben says, “Nishita has been delivering tiffin to her daily for almost three and a half years. Apart from this, she also provide medicines and clothes. Nishita is serving me like a real daughter.”
Vadodara donor Praveen Bhatt says, “Nishita’s work is commendable. That is why many people like us are connected to her. It is only through Nishita that we are able to help these girls. I and many of my friends periodically send checks to the girls for their fees. This trend has been going on for the last 9 years.”
Besides all these praiseworthy efforts for the upliftment of the women and girls from vulnerable section of the society, Nishita has also started discounts at 120 medical stores and about 30 labs in the city for needy women. Under this, women get a discount of 10% in medical stores and 10 to 15% in labs. About 10 thousand women of the city are taking advantage of this.