Payal Kumari is a student of the "Mar Thoma" girls' school in Perumbavoor in the state of Kerala where she has lived for years with her family. She has always distinguished herself in her studies and is appreciated by her teachers, who have supported and guided her.
His father is called Pramod, and he is a daily wage worker from the state of Bihar, who moved to Kerala for work. As a boy, he had to leave school early and for this reason he is now fighting for his children to receive adequate education.
With the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, the problems for Payal have increased. After facing the distrust on the part of the local population, the scarcity of basic tools and the lack of documents, the anxiety, fear and disappointment of not being able to have access to education due to the lack of suitable devices for distance learning have also come up.
It was at that point that the “KISMAT” project intervened; in its activities, it identified 314 migrant children and young people who were studying in government schools and who had absolutely no opportunity to attend online classes. As needed, they were provided with smart TVs, smartphones, textbooks, notebooks, bags with food kits.
Payal was one of those 314 boys and girls identified for assistance. And thanks to the support she received, she achieved a Bachelor's degree in the course of Archeology and History at “Mahatma Gandhi University” Kerala in 2020, making her one of the best students in her degree program.
Payal proudly acknowledges: "The result I have achieved belongs to my father, who worked very hard to make ends meet and faced many difficulties in life, but never wanted to compromise on the education of his children."
Despite all the difficulties faced by the mere fact of being the daughter of a migrant, Payal Kumari never lost heart. Now she would like to pursue a Master's degree in History and Archeology and also prepare for the civil service exams.
Don Bosco KISMAT was happy to be able to support Payal in her studies, and presented the young woman as an example of life and a source of inspiration for many migrant children and young people who cannot see another opportunity than those that life has given them.
