HeadsUp Newsletter - Vol 3.11: November 2006

This is a story about how the lack of water and adequate sanitation changed the life a young girl forever, resulting in a premature wedding and the end of her education. It’s a story about dignity and shame. It demonstrates how the gift of water really can be the gift of life.

Child marriage is a common practice in Indian villages, despite the fact that the legal age to marry was officially raised to 18. Social and economic compulsions often drive parents to get their daughters married at 15, 14 or even 12, heaving a sigh of relief after the final act of parental responsibility is complete.

When the Adolescent Group of Nishtha (a Water for People—India partner) heard of 13-year-old Shyamoli’s wedding, it didn’t come as a surprise. Some members of the group were her schoolmates and missed seeing her at school. They had no idea why Shyamoli, a bright and diligent student, had suddenly dropped out. The group got together and along with the local ‘Panchayat’ leader decided to visit Shyamoli’s home.

Shyamoli’s father, a poor agricultural laborer, was standing at the gate supervising the wedding preparations when the group arrived. His face bore no trace of excitement or joy that an average father would display at his only daughter’s wedding. Although poor, he had tried hard to send his daughter to school and provide for her books, uniform, and supplies. At times he and his wife would go without food to be able to pay for her needs. They simply wanted to see a smile on their beloved Shyamoli’s face.

However, this was not to be. Destiny had decided otherwise. One hot summer afternoon, about four months back, Shyamoli’s mother was awakened by loud sobs from her daughter’s room. It was unusual for Shyamoli to return from school so early and she rushed into her daughter’s room to find out what had gone wrong. But no amount of coaxing could bring Shyamoli to tell her what had happened to prompt her behavior. Later in the evening, her father tried persuading her, but to no avail. This went on for months—Shyamoli simply cried or stared blankly at the ceiling, talking to no one.

At last, the father decided that the only recourse was to arrange a groom for his daughter. He sold off his last bit of land and made frequent visits to the village moneylender to borrow. The groom had not come in cheap and he knew that his daughter’s marriage would bring him a lifetime of debt.

When her friends visited Shyamoli, she finally broke down and recounted her tale of woe. A few days after she turned 13, her menstrual periods started. At school, there was only one toilet, which always had a long line. If she were lucky enough she would get a chance to go in but when she needed to change, she had to be quick or her schoolmates would pound on the door. On one such day, when the line outside the toilet was a meandering maze, Shyamoli was desperate. She could no longer hold on. She went into the schoolyard and found a secluded spot to change. As she quickly proceeded to take care of her needs, she looked up and her eyes met one of the boys from her class who stood rooted, staring at her in her compromised position. Both were equally embarrassed and unable to speak or move. Shyamoli somehow gathered strength and instead of returning to class, rushed back home.

Shyamoli never went back to school. At 13, she was married off to a man much older than she and in a year’s time became a mother.

Shyamoli’s is not an isolated case. Every year, thousands of young girls in India drop out of school because there are no toilets or water sources at school. Water For People’s school hygiene and sanitation program targets the special needs of such students and assists in the construction of drinking water stations and sanitary toilets in rural schools. Two such schools have already received these improvements and four more are in the planning stages for 2007. There are more than a hundred such schools in Nishtha’s operational area. Water For People hopes to reach out to as many as possible, as quickly as possible. Our pledge is never to allow another young girl meet the same plight as Shyamoli!

To find out more about Water for People, projects or to donate please log on to http://www.waterforpeople.org.