Just another extraordinary day.

I spent almost an hour this afternoon, out in the sun, at the school play ground; talking to Divya and Sarswoti about mundane everyday events in life. It started with an inquiry about how they were doing their exams and I asked if they were attempting all the questions or not. As I had feared, Divya hasn't been doing her exams well.

After all, how can you expect someone who lives in a tiny shed in one of the busiest temples in Kathmandu with her alcoholic father and three young siblings to study well, without a candle?

That's reality for Divya.

Divya fears that she might have to leave school and she is afraid she will be forced to stay at home, taking care of her 1 year old sister while her mother goes to work and father goes to yet another alcohol binge.

I am afraid for her too.

She has to sleep in that shed in Pashupati ghat area fearing for her life as she can't even latch the door properly. 

Sarswoti's story is a little different. Not any better though.

Sarswoti lives near Chabahil in a semi-slum area with her younger brother, sister and father. Her mother left home a few days ago and is now living with the aunts as she has fought with her husband over one of the many troubling issues that they face in their everyday life.

They have been asking me if I could help them with a shelter. Do I have an answer? No.

Do I wish I had an answer? Yes.

Divya complains that her father comes home drunk everyday and gives a meager sum of 100Rs. to buy dinner from nearby pasals. Divya's mother keeps insisting that she quit school.

Sarswoti, on the other hand, says that her father is loving and caring. While her mother is away, the father is tending to the children. But there's a small problem. He is an alcoholic too. Sarswoti says that the fights at home are usually about her father's drinking habit.

Why am I writing this?

Because one more time, I seem to have no idea if whatever we've been doing so far will ever bring any positive result. Well, there are a lot of positive changes in the children though. Some of our children are very bright in studies. Others, who are not so good in studies, love to come to school too. That's important.

But what worries us is the deep rooted problem. The alcoholic fathers. The unemployed mothers. The ever growing size of their families. The vicious cycle of poverty.

But what also keeps us hopeful is how these young girls are so determined to study despite all odds and challenges. Divya wishes to go to a morning school and work during the daytime so that she can ease her family's financial burdens. Sarswoti wishes to study hard and be able to stand on her own feet someday and take care of her family.

We hope to be able to continue doing what we are doing. To keep our promises to support them for until the day they wish to study and help them in every way that's possible to keep them in school.

I don't feel sorry for them. Not at all. They give me strength to do better. To do more. They give me courage to keep moving and never give up. I am sharing this story with you all so that you feel what I do. That you feel motivated.