Freedom Ride : To Keep Girls in School
After
finishing the 7th grade, Asma Tamboli wanted to continue her education in high
school. She requested a job from the Mann Deshi Mahila Bank so that she could
earn money to buy a bicycle. When asked why, she replied that she had no
transportation from her village to high school, and her parents had urged her to
drop out because they were worried about her walking the long distance to
school. Asma felt that using a bicycle to get to school would be the ideal
solution but her parents could not afford one. The Bank agreed to employ her
for the summer, and she was able to purchase a bicycle and continue her
education.
Asma was the inspiration behind the Mann Deshi rural women’s micro-finance Bank’s Freedom Ride Bicycle Program. Asma’s story illustrates some of the main barriers facing rural girls who wish to continue their education. Poor public transportation, high costs for bicycles, and reluctance of parents to allow girls to walk long distances to school are only some of the difficulties rural girls face in pursuing their education. The Freedom Ride Bicycle Program is designed to help alleviate these problems, by providing loans at 0% interest to girls and their families to buy bicycles, and has helped prevent hundreds of girls from dropping out of school prematurely. We also have a special fund allocated for those who cannot even afford a loan but show a strong commitment to education, and we donate bicycles to these girls. The Bank is proud of Asma’s innovation and commitment to education, and continues to support others who want to follow in her footsteps.
Mann Deshi has provided more than 2,200 girls with bicycles since the program started.