Ten rupees is less than twenty-five cents. But in this part of the
world, ten rupees is a lot. For each day a girl attends school, PPES
deposits ten rupees into her bank account. Upon graduation, the student
can access this money on the day of her marriage (after the age of 18)
or her 21st birthday - whichever comes first.
Thus, by the time she graduates after class 12 (the same as 12th
grade in the United States), she should have approximately 30,000 rupees
(US$600). This is enough money to effectively make her one of the
wealthiest people in her village.
This money will give her economic stability and independence from
traditional patriarchal pressures.
We council the girls on wise ways to use this money, such as starting
a business or saving for family emergencies. Our goal is for graduates
to resist the pressure for short-term windfall and instead consider how
to improve their lives in the long-run.
