BSPES Girls flying high

 

Bandana Kumari, an alum of Bhagawati Sarla Paliwal Education Society (BSPES), was the first student from the school to be enrolled in a CCIP program at Valencia College, Orlando FL. Bandana comes from a very humble background and has made it this far based on sheer grit and determination. BSPES is a Hindi-medium school and most students there can only manage to speak some rudimentary English. That Bandana learnt English within a matter of months only displays the thirst she has for knowledge and learning. Some Asha Boston volunteers got a chance to chat with Bandana over Skype and even meet her in person when she visited us couple of months ago.

January saw her visit Arizona where all the CCIP program participants – about 200 of them from various countries – got together and attended leadership workshop, guest lectures and some fun activities. For a girl coming from a small town in India getting the exposure to mingle with participants from multiple countries, visiting places you could’ve only dreamt of and getting access to world class education is a life changer. Bandana is slated to return to India after her course finishes in May 2017 and we’re extremely proud of her.

 

Surbhi, another fellow BSPES alum was recently accepted in the CCIP program. She will start the program in Fall 2017. Surbhi and Bandana had been accepted in this program three years ago but the US Embassy canceled on them later that year. The subsequent year Bandana made it through and Surbhi had to face disappointment again. Not one to be bogged down by consecutive rejections Surbhi applied again and was accepted on the third attempt. We wish Surbhi all the best and hope to see her in the US soon.

Bhagawati Sarla Paliwal Education Society (BSPES) is an all girls school in western Uttar Pradesh that enrolls over 700 students. BSPES has been an Asha Boston project since 2015.

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