From MP to the UK, Story of a Tribal Girl

Asha Gond, who comes from a small village Janwaar, in MP's Panna district, started learning the English language just recently and she has already developed affection for the language. She has all the encouragement and support from Ulrike Reinhard, a German woman, who has created a skating park in the village and trains tribal children in skating and the English language.

It’s a dream turned into reality for Asha, who is just sixteen years old. If her passport and other formalities are done on time, she is all set to study in an Oxford school in the UK within the next couple of months.

In a conversation with HT over the phone, an excited Asha said that she is looking forward to going to the UK. She doesn’t know much about the place but said that she will make the most of it. She is not nervous or scared at all and will give her best.

When Reinhard was asked about it, she explained that Asha did very well in the English language course in their summer camp that they organised last year. She promised Asha that she will take her to the UK to learn English. She also explained the hardship of eight months she faced in convincing Asha's parents, who are farmers and depend completely on farming. She spent a lot of time in the fields in scorching heat, trying to convince her mother while she worked there. She had to make them realise the importance of studying the English language and that too in the UK.

Reinhard also requested the MLA of Panna constituency, Lokendra Pratap Singh and Asha’s school teacher Mr Awadh Tiwari, to convince her parents.

Ulrike said that she thought Asha’s parents will not agree. But Asha kept persuading her parents that she wanted to go. When her parents finally agreed, Asha and Ulrike were both teary-eyed and happy.