Jhamku, age 17, lives with her parents in a rural village in Alirajpur, outside of Indore, India. Her parents are illiterate and work as laborers. Jhamku also labored with them but dreamed of restarting her education and setting up her own tailoring shop.

In 2021, to pursue her dream, Jhamku entered the six-month residential training program at the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in Indore. Her parents were initially reluctant to send Jhamku to  Barli because they didn't want to lose her earnings as a laborer. They were also concerned about having fewer hands to help with the family chores. But with counseling from the Barli staff and encouragement from other parents whose daughters had gone to Barli, they eventually decide in favor of their daughter and agreed to send her.

Inside Barli's nurturing walls, Jhamku was safe to explore new walks of life. She found her voice as a woman and developed self-confidence and a thirst for learning. In just six months, she learned not only to read and write but also to generate her own income as a seamstress. 

 
A couple months after the program began, Jhamku's parents visited Barli to participate in a parents gathering. They were happy to see the changes in their daughter and pledged  to support her in setting up a tailoring shop when she graduated. 

In June 2022, Jhamku bought a sewing machine and set up a small shop. She sews the traditional tribal dress and is able to earn average Rs.300 per day. She has also enrolled in 9th standard in the Madhya Pradesh Senior Secondary Board of Education to further pursue her education. 

Reflecting on what education has meant to her, Jhamku wrote:

"To be without education and skills is like being like a bird without wings. You can see the sky and the endless opportunities but you are not able to reach them. It makes you feel helpless.

But education gives the power and the strength to transform our life and that of others. It makes us confident and self reliant. It is like opening windows in a closed room and flooding it with light and fresh air. Our attitude changes and we become open to receiving confirmations and changing the course of our lives. Moreover, it feels like we receive in our hands a magic wand, whereby we can share this light with others and help in their transformation too.

I am immensely grateful to the funding agencies who made my stay and learning in Barli Institute possible. I feel so happy, like a child who has finally learnt to walk and now I will  move on the path of life more assured and more aware."