For the Education and Defence of Underprivileged Girls

For Nikhita Kallam, a final-year BCom student at St Francis College, Hyderabad, helping the underprivileged is an important part of life. Volunteering at Rotaract Club of Jubilee Hills, Nikhita has been involved in activities like donation of rice to the poor in Filmnagar slum, solar lamps to 300 households in Bhongir, a suburb near Hyderabad, and in surrounding villages, and construction of toilets for girls at a government school in Filmnagar.

“There are 16 members in our club and we meet  15 days once to discuss the activities to be taken up. Though I joined the group to do by my bit for the poor and lesser privileged, I also got to learn a lot about various problems faced by girls nowadays,” says Nikhita.

Thanks to her parents’ efforts to develop a positive attitude in her from a young age, Nikhita became a part of Balvikas, a group formed to teach children about Indian values and inculcate a motto of service in them. Nikhita was active in Balvikas all her school days and it was a natural progression to service activities in college.

“We are enjoying so many facilities, have unlimited resources, and lead a happy life. So it is our responsibility to share our resources with the underprivileged who do not have access to basic amenities. Moreover, when we do good work the satisfaction we get is out of the world, and the love people show is  immeasurable,” says Nikhita.

But it was not all that easy for her to carry on these activities. Being in charge of women empowerment activities of the club, Nikhita had to fight the ignorance of slum dwellers when they refused to send their daughters to self defence classes, and other special classes.

“Why do girls need education? Why should they become strong? If they are well-educated, it will become difficult for us to get them married,” were some questions Nikitha encountered at the slum. Though Nikihita got disappointed she was introduced to a whole new world where girls are still facing discrimination.

“I want to dedicate myself to creating awareness among girls from underprivileged sections. I found out that a lot needs to be done there. Even building toilets for them in schools and slums will be of help,” expressed Nikhita, who is planning to form a group which focuses on alleviating problems of underprivileged girls. deeptinandhan@newindianexpress.com