Santosh is a resident of Akhadana village of Bap block, Jodhpur district in Rajasthan, India. As she came to the Doosra Dashak camp for the first time, she was shy, did not speak much and most of the time her hands were busy in doing something or the other. However, when the time came to study, she was one of the most articulate and willing learners.

The 16-year-old is a Meghwal (scheduled caste) by caste and the youngest among a family of five children. She is one of the persons, who got associated with Doosra Dashak right at the start of the project. Her family has a small piece of land, which is cultivated when rain is enough. The main source of the family's livelihood is the wage her father earns, working in the farms of rich farmers.

When the first residential camp was organized in Bap block, she joined it along with five or six other girls of her village. Prior to that, she had never attended any kind of school. Why did she not attend any school, even when the school is nearby to her dwelling? She had no answer, except that she did not feel like going. Her eldest brother Ramuram is the one behind her joining the camp and continuing with her studies even after passing out of the camp.

Says Santosh: "When I completed the three months at the camp and passed grade III, my brother came to witness the function organized at the camp. He interacted with many of my friends and co-learners and felt that the camp had done real good to us. He persuaded me to take admission in the formal school, where I passed grade V and then encouraged me to join the Open Middle School (OMS) for further studies."

Along with continuing her education, Santosh has learnt traditional embroidery in one of the programs of Doosra Dashak and she is using her newly acquired skill for earning a livelihood for her family. "I have taught embroidery to a number of girls in Charnai (a village in the vicinity) and people feel that I really do it well."

Santosh is also a member of the youth group formed in her village after she returned from the residential camps and is one of the active members of the group. "We have taken a lot of initiatives since our return from the camp, including mobilization of village community for the cleanliness drive in the village. When a protest demonstration was staged in Bap and Phalodi for implementation of the employment guarantee law, we, along with our friends from different villages, participated in it and showed our collective strength. At that time I went to a number of villages to inform people about the objective and intention of this particular initiative and all this was done on a bicycle. Doosra Dashak has provided us with a bicycle, which we use whenever we need. Before that no girl had ever learnt to ride a cycle in our village. I feel good when people see and appreciate me riding a cycle."

Santosh is also an active member of the communication group formed at the block level to facilitate interaction with the community and spread messages on various issues. She recalls: "I have the clear impression of the way we were treated by the girls of the so-called higher castes in the beginning of the camp. They refused to eat with us and have food served by us. We felt so insulted. It was not that in the village we had not gone through such behaviour. Our village is a combination of people of the Rajput, Bhil and Meghwal castes. Rajputs do not eat with us and in our houses. But when I saw the same atmosphere in the camp we felt rather disturbed. But our teachers and Doosra Dashak workers were sure to make a difference. They worked hard and ultimately compelled all of us to rethink our notion of high and low castes. By the time the camp ended we all were eating and living together irrespective of our caste, class or religion."

"I feel that as a member of the communication group I should try and change the mindset of the community on such issues. When we stage role plays in the villages, sometimes people even oppose us and make fun of us, but we do not get disheartened. I believe this is the only way change is possible. I have come a long way since my association with Doosra Dashak but it has taken three years time and still there is a long distance for me to cover. It is the same with other people. I know change doesn't come so easily, it requires knowledge and understanding, which is what we have been able to receive in Doosra Dashak.

"Here, in the OMS, we are preparing for class VIII, but our intention is to go beyond scholastic education. We want to know about our world, develop the capacity to earn for ourselves and get respect as persons. I am sure education would give us all that we aspire for."