Book Title: Life as I have Seen It
Author(s): Urmila S Dholakia
Publisher: Urmila S Dholakia

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Page 69
________________ = Life - As I've seen it = elementary school for young girls. This story dates back to over 100 years ago. In those days, young girls were practically illiterate. The reason was simple; there was no school for young girls in the village. Every parent thought education would spoil his or her daughter's innocence. They thought that, if educated, their girls would behave wildly and that could lead to dishonor. This false notion was deeply rooted in society and changing this view was a staggering task. It was like trying to illuminate a dark night sky: To complete such an impossible task, the brothers courageously joined hands with, and started their work in the Lord's name. They decided to start the girl's school in a single room in the middle of the village, so that girls would not have to go far to study. The hardest task was to find a female teacher and to prepare her. They convinced a teacher named Laximben to take on the task. Laxmiben was afraid of societal resistance and her fears came true. As soon as she started for her school on the first day, a fierce protest erupted in the village. There was fanatic and violent resistance and she was forced to return home after being pelted with stones. The brothers soon realized that the task had proved harder than they initially thought. However, they were confident and had their hearts and minds fully into it. Patience and bravery was in their character and they resolved to find a way out. They contacted Mr. Gijubhai Badheka, who was in the city of "Bhavnagar, and described their difficulties to 67

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