From the centres
Five things that
happened here
Four of them went well. One is about a centre that never filled, which we kept open for two years past the point we knew, because closing it looked like failure.
consent field in the content file is required, so it cannot be forgotten by accident.Health & sightIllustrative
The back row
“I thought the board was supposed to look like that.”
She had been moved to the back of a class of sixty for not paying attention. It took ninety seconds at an eye chart to find out she could not see the board.
Sanika · 11, Ramtekdi centre
Read itLearning centresIllustrative
One thousand rupees in February
“My father said we would try again next year. I knew there was no next year.”
Nine and a half years of school, and the thing that nearly ended it was a board exam fee due in the same week his father lost work.
Rohit · 16, Hadapsar
Read itLearning centresIllustrative
The fourth kilometre
“They were not being unfair to me. They were being careful about me.”
Her brother was allowed to walk to the secondary school. She was not. The bus pass costs nineteen hundred rupees a year and it is the cheapest thing we do.
Asmita · 14, Wagholi
Read itMothers' livelihoodsIllustrative
Twelve weeks and a certificate
“I was doing the same work before. They were paying me a third for it.”
She could already sew. What she could not do was prove it, and the difference between those two things was about three times the rate per piece.
Rekha · Mother of two, Kharadi group
Read itLearning centresIllustrative
The centre that is closing
“The honest sentence took us two years longer than the decision did.”
It never filled. We kept it open for two years past the point we knew, because closing a centre looks like failure and it is easier to write a hopeful paragraph.
Wagholi II · Opened 2022, closing March 2026
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