R Aksalya had to drop out of school when she was 10 since she had to look after her siblings as her parents worked as labourers. She missed out on her childhood, her confidence and the innocence of her age. The Arunodhaya staff during their field study at Poongavanapuram – Sathyamoorty Nagar identified her and asked her to join in the nearby Child Labour Center and also told her to send the sibling to Early Childhood Care Centre. Admitted her siblings in the  Poongavanapuram ECC, the little girl joined in the CLC center. At the CLC center she studied for eight months, and afterwards entered the formal education stream by joining the nearby Municipal school where she is studying in the 6th standard now, with a goal of continuing higher studies and becoming a teacher in future.

 

His name is today
“We are guilty of many errors
And many faults,
But our worst crime is
Abandoning the children,
Neglecting the fountain of life.
Many of the things we need can wait.
The child cannot. To him we cannot answer “tomorrow”
His name is “today”

                                                                      - Gabriela Mistral