Family in a view
Om Parkash Meghwar who lovingly calls parkas by his mother lives with his family of five members. Parkash’s family migrated from Ahori Farm during last year’s rainfall and settled in village Ratnore. All family members do labour fro their livelihood support, Father do labour on daily wage of Rs. 100 mother and sister do embroidery on caps (Sindhi Topi) and get Rs. 40-00 daily. Elder brother of Parkash works on a carpet weaving centre at village Mandhal and earn 2500 per month, he comes once in a month. Overall family income is Rs. 4500-00, in spite of living in a deprived village of desert lack of all basic amenities like Health, Education, Electricity and Water and in a limited income they are very happy living their life.

Om Parkash eight years old study in class second shares his daily moments of day as:
“I wake up early in the morning at six o’clock; brush my teeth with Neem tree stick. I fetch water from water tank and bath quickly; mother calls me parkas come hurry for breakfast. I do breakfast with tea and roti (wheat bread) sometimes I use curd when we do not have milk for tea and get ready for school which is in front of my home”.

School (Key of bright future)
Asking about early school time he replied that:
“My home is near to school teacher said me to open the school at seven o’clock in the morning he has given me keys. Teacher reaches at school at 8 o’clock” all boys and girls com after me”.

Being a desert and remotest area of school environment of school and quality of education is not sufficient it is a one class room school not properly managed. During the class study Parkash says:

“We get break of one hour from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, during the passage of time I go to home and take lunch with vegetable and bread sometimes with tea & bread. Parkash says my father is a labour and he returns from work late in the evening so, I fetch water from water storage tank and fill in the pots for drinking purpose my sister helps me to lay the pots in the shadow of hut. After finishing the work I go back to school. We live in a one muddy room surrounded by thorn and bushes courtyard. Some times I do not feel like going back to school but I like to study”.

Faith & worship
Almost a big ratio living in the village is concerned with Hindu community; they celebrate all their events unitedly, take fast on their holy days and developed an environment of friendship helping hand of each.

Om Parkash Says
“My sister takes fast of the month of Vesakh (holy month of Hindus) she eats meal once within 24 hours. I told her the “Katha” (story of Vesakh) early in the morning time, because she is illiterate”.

Time for play
It is one of the fortunate moments when one get free from all limitation and do whatever he wants. Om Parkash is also very lucky to have such moments but only on Sunday he says:

“I come back from morning school at 2 o’clock afternoon and rest for one hour than I take tea and go back for evening school and returns at 6 o’clock in the evening. I take dinner with my whole family along with a chitchat session and get ready for sleep. I do not get time for play daily. I do not like to go school 2nd time but teacher said to my father to send me school in the evening time”.

Although, the children of village Ratnore are not working and labouring so they get enough time for play many children have some extra skills like singing, Parkash says:

“On Sunday we all children of village get to gather under the Kandi (Thorn tree) and play whole the day I like to play blour (crystal marbles game) than all children sings the songs when I and Mangal sing the songs of Fozia Soomro, Suriya Soomro, Shaman Ali Mirali all children claps for us”.

Although, organization has been working in this deprived area since more than two decades for the development focusing on empowerment of women segment, this village is benefited through different interventions like WFP, CIDA, and UNICEF etc.

Father of Om Parkash says
“Though it is about one and half year we have been shifted here from Ahori Sami organization is very active in our area they are working for us they have provided us one latrine two water storage tanks for store water for about 2-3 months, God bless them Ishaque, Parkash and Nasreema informed us for our children’s future and they told get together and discuss your problem with each other. We are very happy we are very poor people nobody gives us the importance they took our children for schools. We never have been to school

Mother of Om Parkash says
“I want Parkas to become a doctor and treat all the villagers I also wanted to send my daughter in school but due to poverty I could not send her to school, but now Sami has opened a girls’ school in our village. I will send my daughter in school now; when I started to go in meetings of Nasreema I felt the importance of education and meetings/gathering”.

Above picture shows that status of education is worst in the village; Ratnore has only one government boy’s school of one room where girls and boys get education together. In this regard SF with its broad approach though and opened the eight girls’ schools in all DA villages and eight schools were open also for working children.