Chandni Makwana

Chandni Makwana

I am name is Chandni Makwana. My age is 16 years. I have two sisters. One is elder to me and the other is younger. I am in 10th grade. When I was three when my father left us. He lost his mental stability and now he is living as a homeless person in Sahij. My mother took us to Ambasan village after this incident. I studied till 9th grade in the village. My mother and my maternal grandmother used to work in the village. They bother were farm laborers. My sister also worked as a farm labor in the vacations. We lived in a really small rental house. My sister came to Ahmedabad in 2016 and lived with my maternal aunty. She married a boy of her age, without the family’s permission. Hence, the extended family doesn’t talk to me. My mother had T.B. (Tuber callouses). My mother’s condition worsened because of this trauma. She was hospitalized but her body could not respond to her treatments. My mother died last year out of the illness. My family blames my sister for my mother’s death. After my mother’s death I came to Ahmedabad for my studies and I joined Bharat higher secondary school.

My cousin sister, Komal Parmar was a Kadam student already. She introduced me to Kadam. Komal told Meeraben about me. Meera ben asked Komal to take me to a three-day workshop at HDRC. I met Meera ben in that workshop and had a long conversation with her. Meera ben asked me to join Kadam. My sister also joined Kadam along with me. I started taking tuition at Kadam for English and also take support for 10th grade exam. I have taken various trainings, such as, gender equality training, health hygiene, reproductive, Constitution of India, etc. I also took personality development training. After I joined Kadam I gained confidence, which I had lost after my mother’s death. I am getting out of the depression yet. I gained a goal, which is to study further. I also got to learn English and computer. My family makes comments because my sister ran away. I learned to tackle those comments. I have learned to stay focused. As I take tuition in Kadam, I gained a lot of general knowledge as well. I took training in Drashti organization. They host a radio program named ‘Radio Najaria’ through Kadam. Currently, I am taking the training of office assistant in Kadam. I am also preparing for my 10th grade final exam. I just been seven months in Kadam, but I feel I have a learned a lot in Kadam.

I wish to take further training through Kadam and study further. I want to work and get a job on the basis of my education.