19-year-old Sheetal
Bhalegaon is from Sangam Ner in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra. She
comes from a family of six including her parents, elder sister, two younger
siblings and herself. Her father works in a sugar factory and her mother is a
home maker. Having successfully passed her standard twelve examinations from
Mahatama Phule college she shifted her focus towards fulfilling a dream she had
cherished for long – to become a nurse. However, she could not afford a professional
course in nursing.
A wise man once
said, “If a dream fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try
something.” This aptly applies to Sheetal who did not give up her desire to
become a nurse.
She heard about Pratham from her cousin sister
who had been a part of Pratham’s bed-side assistance program. “It was a chance
for me to do something which will bring me closer to my dream.” She promptly moved
to Nashik along with her elder sister to join Pratham’s bed side assistance
program and started living with her aunt.
However this
transition to a new city was not easy for her. Having never lived away from her
parents, she initially battled homesickness and longed to go back home.
Eventually she made friends at Pratham and soon she found herself at home in
Nashik.
She has fond
memories of her time spent at Pratham. “I especially liked the various
activities we engaged in apart from the regular course. Self-help activities
were fun. They helped me develop myself as a person. I was a very quiet and
reserved person earlier but after the course I have become more confident and I
have started interacting with more and more people”, she says. Indeed her cheerful countenance and infectious
smile are testimony to this change in her.
After completing
her course she worked as a trainee at Nashik’s Sant Krupa Hospital and was
retained by the hospital as a permanent staff three months ago. “I am now an
earning member of my family,” she proudly declares. She earns around 3,000
rupees out of which she saves 1,000 rupees and gives the rest to her elder
sister. She is now awaiting a hike in her salary to 6,000 rupees a month. “I
will buy a pair of gold earrings for myself after the hike,” she says with
excitement.
Content with her life, she is enjoying the work that she does and feels that
Pratham’s course provided her with the right pedestal to move towards her dream
of becoming a nurse.
