“Unnati gave me the confidence to live life”: A touching story from Belagavi

Dear friend,

Prasad – 42nd Batch – Admin Assistant – 91-78999-52853

Prasad is from a remote town called Chikodi in the Belagavi district. He has four elder sisters, two of whom are married. One of his sisters is mentally challenged, and that condition was caused by incorrect medication for fits! There is another sister who is waiting to be married. His mother is a home-maker, and  father  a contract labourer doing repairs in the Weights & Measurements department of the Karnataka Government. Prasad is unable to quote a number as the average monthly income. He mentions that his father would get work only six months a year and would be paid a pittance for all the work he did. Making ends meet was never easy for the family.

Prasad was able to attend PUC, but was unable to complete the course. When he was watching Chandana TV, he chanced upon the programme on Unnati, and immediately looked up the internet for further details. Once he was convinced about what Unnati does, there was no looking back. He joined the 42nd batch and was chosen for the Admin Assistant vocation.

While at Unnati, he mentions three distinct subjects that have enabled a huge change in his life today:

• Confidence: Unnati has helped boost Prasad’s confidence exponentially.

• Communication: Prasad was aware of, and fluent in three languages – Marathi, Kannada & Hindi. He is very thankful to Unnati for giving so much importance to spoken english . He is able to converse fluently in english now.

• Computer Classes: Prasad’s full-time job is now based on computer application, and he says he could have never dreamt of it if he had not done the course at Unnati.

If I did not have a background of Prasad, I would have never known about his challenge. Prasad’s story thus far, was similar to any student’s success story.What makes his story special is the fact that he is physically challenged.Before joining Unnati, he was dependent on someone to move from one place to another but today ,thanks to the confidence that Unnati has given him, he is totally independant and happy. He no longer focuses on his challenged self but looks at the brighter side of life  with enthusiasm and lots of hope.

Prasad is very thankful to Unnati for the way they took care of him during the 70-day course. He recalls the one instance where he tripped and fell, and the entire set of staff and students were there to take care of him – they made sure he ate well, rested well and even took him to a nearby clinic for medical assistance.

Prasad says Unnati is his extended family. He misses Unnati every day at work!

Prasad’s first job through campus was at India e-info media. Once he completed the on-the-job training at that organization, they recommended Prasad to IndusInd Bank in Basavangudi!

At work, Prasad has to be adept with computers as he needs to scan forms and send it to the head office. He now works in the scanning department of IndusInd bank.

Coming from a family with no regular source of income, The Rs. 84000 that Prasad earns annually is a huge achievement and a matter of great  pride for him and his family!

Prasad says Unnati is like his home, and they have given him the wonderful life he leads today. He would like to tell all the current and future batch students to stay focussed and complete the course; for they can never imagine how much better their lives will become after the course!

Team Unnati is very happy to have a student like Prasad, who is such an inspiration for the student fraternity!

Wish you the very best in everything, Prasad!

Contribution by Sukanya Kuppuswamy (Volunteer)

Team Unnati