There is a lot of heat given towards various development programs. Do these projects really have any impact? My name is Marie-Louise-I am a French American born and raised in Washington DC. For the last six months I have been teaching English at Pardada Pardadi (PPES), an academic/vocational school in rural Uttar Pradesh, focusing on girls with the aim of transforming them into socially and financially independent women. I have personally witnessed the success of PPES.

I arrived in Anupshahar village in December 2009, armed with a grammar book to impart the English language onto members of the school. Being that English is an official language of India, and the international language of business, it is an essential tool for economic mobility. For this reason, it is vital for the students to communicate with ease in this Germanic language in order to compete effectively in today’s job market.

I began teaching staff in order for Pardada Pardadi to become an English medium school. I also teach classes 8 and 9. Having been raised a bonafide city girl, it was quite difficult adjusting to life in a small town in UP. I had made the commitment to stay a year. The purpose of my trip here, however, convinced me that I would be all right- girls and staff members quickly welcomed me as one of their own. I swear some of the happiest people on earth live in this small town. The teachers laugh with each other, making sweat teasing jokes, and immediately invited me in the loop. After my lesson on articles, for example, my good friend and student Shikha, an English teacher at the school, approached me questioning about the freckles on my arm. I pointed out that she has some as well, and she jokingly and cleverly pointed out, “But yours are uncountable, and mine are countable.” Nothing makes teachers happier than a dorky joke invoking something learned from their lesson. My favorite part of the day is walking through the playground, where kids hoot and holler hello. My heart melts each and every time. Have I mentioned that Anupshahar produces the most excellent samosas and chutney known to man?

Many staff members and students are also some of my greatest role models. As a woman, I have been inspired time and time again. I’ll give you an example. Neetu is the school’s nurse. She is soft spoken and kind – after celebrating the Holi festival, she invited me to her office, where she kindly gave me a bagful of my new favorite Indian sweets- Gujiya. Despite her humble demeanor, Neetu is a REBEL. She is in her early 20s, ripe for the picking by an Indian bachelor….or maybe not. Neetu refused to get married, meaning she has broken the most sacred and enduring of traditions for a young woman in the village- getting hitched young, which was previously the only track followed by the village girls. Social independence-check!

Aside from that she has suggested that her younger brother marry before her- an even bigger cultural taboo. Neetu’s actions send out a clear, swift message: “Village women have balls too.” Aside from the marriage issue, Neetu battles additional age-old concepts. Can women be money makers, work outside the home, leave the cooking and cleaning to someone else? According to Neetu, ‘hell yeah.’

Neetu works at the school as a nurse. She travels back and forth to Delhi accompanying students with ailments, and learning the tools of the nursing trade in the process. She is currently enrolled in a training program for nursing in the nation’s capital. Financial independence, double check!

I love to watch this girl fight the current. Though she and I are leading somewhat similar lives- getting educated and working – the social implications behind our acts are worlds apart. In the States, it is the norm for women to marry later and to pursue a career. In her village, Neetu is committing a major faux-pas. She is fighting all of the voices nipping at her ears- her parents,’ her friends,’ and of course, all the other neighborhood talk characteristic of small towns. She doesn’t care. Neetu is reinventing what it is to be a woman in Anupshahar. And she’s not the only one.

Tenth grade graduates and other alumni are doing just the same. A group of them will be heading to Bangalore to train in the Nettur Technical Training Foundation. But first they must pass an admission test- Priyanka in class ten tells me she is praying every girl in her class passes the test, and requests me to do the same.

Sony, who attended the school and now works as the school librarian tells me with a goofy grin on her face that her father has FINALLY agreed to let her go. You can tell Sony is at the forefront of a power rebalance, when you consider the conviction, confidence and tenacity she demonstrated in convincing her father. Her entire life has just been transformed, and though she will leave her village, her legacy will remain, sowing the seed of change. Clearly, a new generation of feminists is born out of this small village in India.

Who started this project? Well you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s not a government initiative or a government school. Sam Singh, former head of Dupont South Asia took retirement from the United States and returned to his home village near Anupshahar. Sam couldn’t imagine what else to do with his retirement other than open a school for girls in his village. Sam continues to use his skills as an executive to run the school, and basks in the sound of children’s laughter during the school day. “Good job, bitiya (daughter),” he says as he pats them on the back.

My question is why don’t more people do this? India houses some of the richest people on earth, and it has a “burgeoning middle class.” Both government and market are clearly failing to deliver the needs of the vast majority of the Indian population. The streets of Delhi are filled with a population of ghosts- beggars with their hands outstretched- mothers, babies. Starving children play court jester, with hats, drum beats, and cart wheels- their begging hands are there, but smiles are not. If only more Sam Singhs existed helping strong women like Neetu and Sony empower themselves, the world would be a brighter place.

Marie-Louise Orsini is a French American, born and raised in Washington DC. She graduated from McGill University, Canada, and is currently a “volunteer” English teacher at Pardada Pardadi School in Uttar Pradesh, India.

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