Amita and Ramita: A Story of Sisterly Love

How we met Amita and Ramita

This story began in 2017  door to door campaign for admission in villages outside Pharping to ensure all school aged girls are enrolled in school. The broader intension of the campaign was combating child marriage by keeping girls in school and empower them through education. During that campaign, we met a family where two little girls  were living with their 84 year old grandmother.

Our team wanted to learn more about the family and started the conversation with the grandmother-Thuli Maya Tamang.  She said that Amita was 9 and Ramita was 8 years old. During the conversation, Thulimaya shared that Amita and Ramita were among 5 children of their parents. They had one older brother, one older sister and one younger sister. The children’s father was in jail and their mother remarried and took the youngest girl with her. Two older children were taken to Kathmandu by their relatives and were admitted to school. Amita and Ramita were left at home with her.

Amita and Ramita’s story

Grandmother Thulimaya worked hard despite her age to support the young girls. The girls also helped their grandmother’s work in the field and in the households. She wanted her young granddaughters to go to school like other girls from the village. She managed to enroll the girls at Kalika Secondary School in grade two. Our team was moved by the story of the family . Even in that situation, the old woman’s desire to send her granddaughters to school was beyond heroic and full of love and hope for the better future of her granddaughters. Our team thanked Thuli Maya for sharig her story and assured her to help the girls to keep in school. 

Becoming Rukmini Bahinis

Rukmini Foundation was prepared to help girls like Amita and Ramita. In 2018 they became our younger sisters (bahini)  from grade 3. These girls needed much more support  than others.  We had to ensure their food security for health and  education. Acknowledging the situation of the elderly woman and two young girls, we decided to support the family with  basic food items so that the girls and their grandmother can live without worrying about filling their bellies. We started providing enough food supplies for the family every three months as they became part of our Rukmini Foundation family. 

Rukmini Foundation staff and students celebrate mother’s day with Grandmother Thulimaya

Thuli Maya was very appreciative of  our support and  treated us like her own family every time we paid a visit.  Amita and Ramita were happy in school. During an annual program of their School on April 13, 2021,  our team met Amita and Ramita and watched them  perform in a group dance. They seemed very happy, but their study was not progressing very well. The grandmother was growing older and weaker. The girls needed to work more at their home having no time for their homework. Schools were disrupted due to Covid Pandemic. There was no one to guide and support them in their studies at home.  As the health of their grandmother started getting worse, their older uncle and his wife came to support them.  Now their  new guardians were their older uncle and aunt. We were relieved thinking that Amita and Ramita were safe with their uncle and aunt.

Grandmother passing away hit very hard 

The girls were growing up, attending school regularly until they were under the guardianship of their grandmother. Their grandmother passed away in 2022 at the age of 89. After the death of Thuli Maya, the girls became true orphans. Their grandmother’s death was a heavy blow to the girls. Later, we learned that this new situation was especially hard for the young girls. They were assigned to do more household chores and farm work when they were needed. Covid situations had already impacted  their learning. On top of that the grief of grandmother’s death, the pressure of school work and the house work became a heavy load for the teenagers. When schools opened, they were falling behind in their school performances. 

Meeting with Amita

When we learned about them not attending school, our mentors immediately visited them to understand the situation. It was very sad to learn that Amita was working in a small restaurant in Pharping. She told the mentors that she left her home in the village and was living with their relatives and working for them in their restaurant. Our mentors tried to encourage her to return to school saying that failing once should not be the reason to quit school. She did not wish to go back home and attend the old school. She understands what her grandmother’s dream was. But for now, she wants to work and save money and  help her younger sisters. She deeply wished that her younger sister Ramita would continue her education. Our team could not convince her to go back to school that time, but their efforts in convincing her to attend Open School supported by Shikharapur School and Rukmini Foundation will continue.The owner of the shop also wants Amita to go back to school. At last, Amita said she will consider joining an open school next year. Our team will keep encouraging her to attend school. 

Meeting with Ramita

Ramita was out of school for three months. She was working as a day laborer in agriculture or staying at home. The team visited Ramita in her home.  During the conversation, our team asked Ramita why she decided to leave school. She shared that she felt ashamed and feared being teased by her peers, as they had advanced to grade 8 while she remained in grade 7. Her uncle also said that he had tried to encourage her to return to school but she did not listen. 

Our team had a long talk with her, encouraging her to attend school. The team asked, “Do you want to go to a different school if we continue supporting you?’’ After a moment’s hesitation, she said “Yes, I will go.” They assured her that they will pair her with another girl from the village who is also in that school and she would be her friend.  Ramita finally agreed to the idea of a fresh new start in a different school with a friend who was attending there. 

A Fresh New Start

Our team had already made arrangements about transferring her to Kalidevi School. Hearing “Yes” to attend a new school from Ramita was the news they wished to hear. The team took Ramita to Kalidevi School and met the Principal and teachers, introduced Ramita and made arrangements for her enrollment. They bought her a new school uniform and shared some words of encouragement to attend school regularly. 

Ramita’s Progress

Not long after Ramita joined the school, our team saw Ramita smiling and happy surrounded by her friends during a program in that school. Afterwards, they checked with her teacher Rajendra Shrestha to find out how Ramita was doing in school. Teacher Rajendra’s reply was very positive about her progress. The teacher’s response was , “Ramita was working hard and showing significant improvements in her studies despite a three month gap. She completes her homework and works hard to make up for her lost time”.

Our team will be checking on Ramita closely to make sure she stays in school. They will keep encouraging the older sister Amita to join the Open School in the morning so that she can work in the daytime. 

Ramita’s story is a testament to the power of support, encouragement, and the willingness to give someone a second chance. Her journey from dropping out to thriving in school once again serves as an inspiration to everyone around her. She has shown remarkable resilience and determination to create a brighter future for herself and make her grandmother’s dream come true and make her sister Amita happy for her love and support.