Why the Campaign
In each one of us, there is a Preeti...
Preeti, when I met her, was 19 years old, working at a boutique as a salesperson. She had a beautiful smile and an infectious positivity. We immediately hit it off. I learnt that she could not complete her education because her alcoholic father wanted her to earn. She was keen but hesitant of trying because, she feared her father would disapprove of her pursuit. We agreed that she and I would spend time every morning before work, studying – particularly math and English and that I will pay for her education. We both began this journey, not knowing the outcomes. It wasn’t easy. The money, tuition, filling up the forms, chasing deadlines were all easy and pretty linear. What was really a struggle, everyday was pulling her out of her pits when she would hit an emotional low. Most of the times, we both spent hours sorting out emotions, keeping up the hopes and chasing the dream we both had for Preeti. This went on for the next six years till she completed her graduation, and the journey wasn’t linear at all.
“A bachelor degree didi”, I had never imagined I would be a graduate”. She hugged me tightly, this was in 2016 and we both celebrated by taking a walk up to Neemach Mata Temple. Along the way we kept reminiscing the hurdles she overcame, all by herself including her father’s tearing apart her text books, verbal abuses and constant dismissal. But she didn’t give up. She studied, she kept clearing her exams; she continued to change jobs for better prospects. She was extremely good at her work and she received many promotions. The graduation degree even helped her get a manager’s candidacy.
Unfortunately, Preeti died in early 2019 because of an illness we couldn’t know. She had lost her first child a few months before her death. Perhaps the loss of her child had broken her deeply. But the journey Preeti had unintentionally pushed me on remains. My work continues with the young people, particularly women, to evoke their ‘self-belief’.
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