A beacon of hope for uplift of the girl-child

The latest addition to Hyderabad District Collector Yogita Rana’s achievements includes the ‘Exemplary Performance Award’ for the protection, welfare and education of the girl-child under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Programme’ (BBBP). Under her leadership, Hyderabad has come to be recognised among the 10 districts in the country to successfully implement BBBP.

Reflecting on the journey that resulted in the Central award, Yogita says with a smile, “It’s a team effort! There are several officers in various departments doing some amazing work, so it is always the team that is rewarded. I’m only receiving the award as a representative.” She further shares, “The entire staff is motivated and the award only makes us more responsible. Hyderabad has been acknowledged as a girl-child-friendly district. Right from educating a girl child, her marriage expenses and conceiving, everything has been taken care of by the government.”

To begin with, while rolling out the programme, Yogita ensured that all girls are enrolled in the anganwadi centres. “Out of 914 centres, we trained teachers from 240 centres in ‘teacher learning material’ (TLM) through joyful learning (singing and dancing), which the child adopts very quickly. This way, the child feels like coming to school even on a Sunday. The results of this activity prompted other teachers to prepare the TLM on their own. Also, 1,200 more enrollments have been registered in the last seven months.”

Yogita states that if a girl-child comes to the anganwadi, she will definitely continue her higher studies. “But if she fails Class X, her parents will get her married and her dream life will be buried. So in this way we are postponing her marriage by a few years. We also have special classes for high school children that is accompanied by a nutritious diet,” she informs. 

Fifteen passionate years into service, what keeps her going consistently? “Certain things come naturally. My mother always used to say: ‘If we take care of the children of God, God will take care of our children in our absence,’ and I believe that. So whoever comes to my office with issues, whatever is doable at my level, I ensure that it is addressed within a week’s time,” she explains, adding, “Recently I asked my children to visit the Malakpet blind school, and then the deaf and dumb school. They complained saying that the house and food there were not good; they made me promise that I would visit the two schools the next morning. Soon, we had a grant of two crore for the blind school. So, if you want to serve the needy, God always opens doors for you.”

Interestingly, if anyone calls Yogita ‘amma’, she feels touched and privileged. “Especially when the children of Manavatha (an orphanage) call me that! I miss them because I am unable to go there (Nizamabad),” she says.

And with a long list of responsibilities on her shoulder, how does Yogita manage her time? “I have a lot of time. I start my day at 4.30 am, and unless we love our work, things don’t work out,” she believes. “At home, I am relaxed, but I keep following up on things. If you have an agenda, you need to monitor it constantly, otherwise it’ll never happen. And unless we measure it, we can’t monitor it. So in everything that I take up, I ensure there’s measurability.” Notably, to ensure the holistic development of girls and women, Yogita is also working on renovating libraries and improving menstrual hygiene, adolescent education, self-defence, awareness on various laws, etc., in the city.