Ok, I know this is a bit mad. But I am planning to cycle 120 miles again, through the night, from East London to Dunwich. After a difficult year, I am keen to get a bit fitter again. And maybe to prove something, like that I'm living, perhaps. 

If you'd like to make a donation to Karuna, that might just benefit my legs a bit, as well as helping with their fantastic work! Please see below - these are two amazing girls' hostels, and I would love to raise money to support their educational work.

Vishrantwadi Girls Hostel, Pune
The hostel works with 78 girls from the most marginalised communities in Pune district. The girls are from Dalit and tribal communities. Their parents are working in unskilled manual labour jobs. The hostel specifically selects girls who have difficult family situations, whether this be issues with alcohol abuse and domestic violence, single parent families or where girls don't usually get the opportunity to continue education.

The hostel is thriving and making a significant difference to the young girls aged 10-16. Girls are provided with additional tuition in English, Maths and computing. They have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of extra curricular activities, including swimming which they love! 42 students passed their life-saving certificate this year. Students have won district-level prizes in a range of sports. The girls actively contribute to the day-to-day running of the hostel, led by the "Student Ministry" a group of students elected by their peers. Through small-group discussions, the girls have developed confidence in expressing their opinion on topics such as gender equality and social issues.

Case study 
Vaishnavi is 10 years old and joined the hostel last year for 5th standard. Her family come from the Ajanti slum in the Nigadi area of Pune. The slum school only provides education up to 5th standard. She has been brought up by her mother after her alcoholic and abusive father deserted the family home when she was 6. Her mother is illiterate and works as a cleaner. Vaishnavi dropped out of education when her father left to do the household work and childcare so her mum could work. When she first joined the hostel she was very naughty, teased other girls and didn't do her study. Over the past year, her behaviour has dramatically changed due to the support of the hostel. Through studying in small groups and partner work, she has caught up with her studies and developed her English. She is a lively, positive girl who loves living in the hostel. She loves to dance, play kabo and spends any spare moment she has studying. Her aim is to complete her education and become a government officer.


Latur Girls Hostel, Latur
The hostel is home to 62 girls from rural areas outside of Latur City. The girls come from marginalised Dalit and tribal communities, whose parents are reliant on poorly paid, insecure agricultural work. The region has been experiencing an extreme drought for a number of years, which is pushing families deeper into poverty.

The hostel is committed to giving its students a high quality well-rounded education so that the girls leave confident, resilient and well-skilled to break free from caste-based discrimination. Preety, the education manager, loves to use creative and engaging methods to encourage learning. The girls particularly enjoy conducting science experiments using everyday household objects, an opportunity that is not available to them in school. Through group work, leadership opportunities and emotional wellbeing, 77% of the girls have developed acceptance, appreciation, co-operation, responsibility and respect towards others. The school that the girls attend is very supportive of the hostel and the girls are getting excellent exam results.

Case study:
Shikhre is 12 years old and comes from Korangali village. There is no provision for education in her village after 8 years old. Her family are very poor and live in a small room. She is raised by her father as her mother died due to lack of money for hostel expenses. Her family survives on less than £1 a day. When Shikhre arrived at the hostel she was a below average student and very shy. She struggled with maths in particular, and the hostel gave her extra attention to help her improve her maths skills. Her father was very shocked when she performed in front of an audience of 1000 at a cultural programme. Her hobby is learning English words. She gives a quick response to the teacher in classroom and also in tuition. If she doesn’t understand anything then she asks questions freely. She reported, “When I was studying in my old school, I always received B2 or B1 Grade. Then I felt very hopeless and I thought, I will never get A2-A1 grade in my life. I never thought that I also can learn with this different ways. There is a big place in hostel for study. The environment of hostel is very good. All wardens & my friends always motivated me for studies now I feel confident about myself. I want to become a Doctor then I will give a good and free health services to poor people."

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