Please Let Me Study

Laxmi stopped attending school after Grade Five. At home there was work to do. There were fields. There were expectations about what a girl should contribute to the household. Education slowly moved further away. But there was one person who kept believing Laxmi should study. Her grandmother. Her grandmother had never had the opportunity to attend school herself. Perhaps that was exactly why she understood what education could mean. She encouraged Laxmi. She defended her. She kept insisting that her granddaughter deserved another chance. Eventually, Laxmi returned to formal education. The classroom she had left became part of her life again. And a new dream appeared. She wanted to become a teacher. The grandmother who had never sat inside a classroom had helped send her granddaughter back into one. Sometimes encouragement comes from someone who never received the opportunity they are fighting for you to have. Who believed in your future before you were able to believe in it yourself? This is an editorial retelling of a documented account. Original storyteller: Laxmi. Country: Nepal. Source: UNICEF Nepal.