Karina is a strong learner

Six year old Karina lives in Karachiwadi, a tribal hamlet in Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India. Her father Valu earns $92 a month as a contract laborer and struggles to support their family of seven. Valu and his wife, Yashoda, believe in empowering their children through education and ensure that Karina regularly attends school.

Karina now studies in ‘Prithvi’ (Earth), a pre-primary class at the Aseema Bal Shaikshanik Kendra in Awalkheda. The medium of instruction at the Center is Marathi, the local language. A quick learner, Karina keenly observes her teachers and works with great focus. She is a shy and gentle child and prefers working in groups.

Karina loves listening to stories and writing on slate. Working with Montessori Materials, Karina can now confidently read, write and count numbers from 1 to 20 in Marathi. She can identify colors and promptly answer questions about fruits, flowers and parts of plants. In language studies, Karina can read, write and recognize vowel sounds. She has just started learning the alphabets. With a zest for learning, Karina enthusiastically participates in weekly co-curricular activities such as arts and crafts, music and sports. She loves working with her hands. On Pola, a local bull-worshiping festival, Karina and her friends made bulls out of clay. She looks forward to festival celebrations as it involves art and craft activities, which are her favorite.

Thanks to your support, Laura, Danielle and Peter and Kim, Karina can now fulfill her dream of pursuing further education.