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A model studentEight-year-old Anne Baptist lives with her grandparents. She is currently studying in grade 2 at St. Mary Goretti Girls’ High School, a Catholic Hindi school situated in Asansol, about 200 kilometres from Kolkata. The school has three branches in Asansol run by the Daughters of St. Anne congregation. The school has more than 5000 girls studying in Kindergarten to grade 12.

Anne Baptist is one of the girls receiving support from the Global Family community school programme. An intelligent girl, Anne receives good academic results and shows a keen interest towards her studies. Drawing is one of her favourite activities while English & Hindi are her subjects of interest. She says she would love to become a teacher.

Anne is a very smart student and participates well in class. All her teachers love her. Her parents live in another province, Bihar, which is too far away to stay there while she goes to school. Her father does not have a good job and is unable to provide for her education requirements. Her grandfather works as a driver to earn a living to try to provide for the family.

Anne and her grandparents would like to thank you and all the families in North America that have helped them. Program update

This year St. Mary Goretti Girls’ High School started an organic kitchen garden for the children who board, and began teaching tailoring with some of the mothers. The garden will help the kitchen to be more sustainable and the tailoring program will help the mothers with supporting themselves and their families.

Other newsThe Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare of West Bengal has developed a program to encourage girls to stay in school longer. The government will be paying more of the costs of educating girls in order to ensure that they stay in school until they are 18. This is intended to help with the health and development of girls and prevent early marriage.

Anne’s classroom. Anne and her teacher, Poonam Devi.

Fall 2015–IndiaCommunity School Programme

Story & Photos by Cecelia Das & Sushmita Ghosh