Sunder Devi's Journey
Sunder Devi, wife of Mr. Baluram Gameti, was born in an illiterate and financially constrained family of Sadiya Rail Panchayat Samiti, Maweli. Her parents being illiterate, she was also deprived of literacy and was married to Mr. Baluram Gameti, who belonged to Osolia's Madri. She came to know that in Osolia's Madri, a Centre of Continuing Education, teaches illiterate women and makes them independent. She then took permission from her husband and family, and began her lessons at the centre. It was through this that she came in contact with other women in the village and started contributing and participating in the development of the village.
Meanwhile, elections were declared and she was elected as the leader of Scheduled Cast (women) by the village folks for the Boyana Gram Panchayat.
After being elected as the leader, Ms. Sunder Devi has continued her association with the Department of Literacy, Rajasthan and is an active participant in the various programmes held at the centre. She gives all the credit to the Department of Literacy for her success.
Ms. Sunder Devi has promised herself to make Osolio's Madri a completely literate village, for which she regularly organises the Illiterate Women Literacy Camps. With the consent of the motivators of the centre, she is successfully taking the mission forward. Today, no female between 15-35 years of age is illiterate in the village.
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The success story of a Neoliterate – Santosh
Santosh Katiya of Simawati Tahseel Gram Panchayat Chhaju, in Bikaner district was married to Kishan Katiya when she was 25 years of age. At that time she was an illiterate. People in their village earned the living by spinning 'charkha'. Santosh's mother-in-law and other relatives also used to bring wool from the nearby village – Diyattar, make it into yarn and deposit it back. The records for the same were maintained in a diary but none of them knew what exactly was written in that diary by the manager; they just took their diaries along with them.
One day Santosh, too, went to Diyattar, after consulting her husband. Upon reaching there, she realised that her name was in the records. So, she decided to take wool in her mother’s name.
Because even she was illiterate, she could not understand what was being written in the diary, by the manager who kept accounts. But she always felt that she was spinning more yarn, than was being paid for.
It was now that she decided to study and luckly, she met Mr. Pratap Ram Katiya. He was carrying some books and notes along with him and she enquired about them. He then told her that he was the motivator of the Nodal Centre, gave the details about the centre and what it did and invited her to be a part of the centre.
Within a day or so, Santosh went to the Nodal Centre where she saw books, papers, magazines, etc. and decided to go there regularly. The trainers at the centre trained her and very soon, she got her name registered in the literacy programme that was being organised at Chajum for illiterate women. After studying at the centre for fifteen day, she became a neo-literate. A few days later, exams for class III were announced, in which, she got herself registered. She prepared for them day and night and attained an ‘A’ grade. Soon, she received a bright and colourful certificate. She felt on top of the world… her long fetched dream was fulfilled, and she soon began overseeing the loom records in the village.
