Juveria Shaikh

Juveria Shaikh

Juveria was 11 years old when she joined Kadam. She lost her father a few years. Her father died due to cancer. When she joined Kadam, we noticed that she was constantly inclined towards her mother. She used to hide behind her mother initially. After a couple of counseling session, we realized that she had social anxiety, which made her constantly cling towards her mother. This disturbed her mother’s work as well. Juveria was afraid to leave the house or even go to school without her mother. The situation got serious when her attendance in school dropped- it was not possible for her mother to drop her to school everyday. Fortunately she received educational assistance from a project of CfD. Later on, she joined Kadam. Counseling helped unfold certain unfortunate episodes in Juveriya’s life. Initially, her mother accompanied her to KRCG and had to wait for her almost for 3 hours every day. With gentle counseling, gradually she could identify the reason for her anxiety; the first indicator of success has been that she has now started remaining in KRCG without her mother. From a shy, frightened girl she has started making friends and interacting with other girls in Kadam, and participating in all the activities.

Currently, she is 15 years old and studies in 10th grade. She is preparing for her upcoming GBSE board exams. Although, she is working hard, she is not able to cope with a few subjects. She is good with Mathematics but her languages (English and Gujarati) are weak. Due to Corona and lockdown, she was not able to come to the center, where Radha teacher taught her. Post the tablet distribution; with the tablet, she is able to continue her studies from home. Everyday she takes tuitions for 2 hours via video call. Her academic base was poor; hence, we started with polishing that first. Gradually, her concepts are getting clear. With this she is able to learn better.

Juveria’s mother wants her to study well and make a brighter future for herself and her family. She is doesn’t want Juveria to get married, instead she wished that Juveria works well and becomes successful. Juveria wishes to become a teacher. She wants to educate children, instead of mere teaching. As she says, “our teachers make us by-heart the books and notes. I don’t want to do that. As I am learning the base and clearing the concepts, I want that in future, when I teach, my students also receive this type of education.” Her goal is clear for a long time now. This makes the process of choosing the right subjects in future academics, easier for herself and Kadam as well.