Rita B.

Rita is ten and is studying in the second grade. Her father died last year. He was alcoholic and did not support the family. Some years ago Rita’s mother’s arm was badly burned up to the neck in a cooking accident. In spite of this, as the sole wage earner, she works lifting bricks and sand at a construction site, earning two dollars a day. Things became so difficult that the mother was on the verge of placing Rita and her other child (a four year old boy) into an orphanage. School Nepal has prevented this. School Nepal provides supplies for school as well as food for Rita and her family. Rita and her brother now attend school daily. After her mother leaves for work in the morning, Rita has all responsibilities: cook, take care of her brother, get ready for school and walk to school for 30 minutes. Rita says “I don’t want to stay at home all day. I’ve already missed two years of school and want to study. I should be in the fourth grade by now, but because of my brother I couldn’t start first grade when I was six”. Rita is smart, hard working, and respectful. She likes school very much. Her teachers say she studies hard and placed third in her class last year.