Rajshree Rathore and the Wedding that Brought Blessings to Sambhali Trust
Rajshree Rathore met Sambhali Trust founder Govind Rathore (no relation) and his wife Mukta at a wedding in 2017. Govind initially asked if she would be willing to give the girls at the Sheerni boarding home a few dancing lessons. Later that year, Rajshree became a tutor at Sheerni and today she heads Sambhali Trust’s education program. Thus, a night of celebration for one couple grew into a relationship with Sambhali Trust which has enriched the lives of so many women and girls.
When she began her work at Sambhali Trust, Rajshree was a first-year college student. She attended classes in the morning and tutored in the afternoon, helping the girls with their homework and to prepare for their exams. Within a year, she was also tutoring at Laadli Boarding Home and quickly became an integral and trusted member of the Sambhali Trust team.
“Rajshree developed very much in her personality after having joined Sambhali,” states Govind. “She is confident, patient, and very respectful of deadlines. She is very career oriented and is open to learning new things.”
Rajshree’s support and leadership became essential when the Covid pandemic hit. She was promoted to Head of Vocational and Educational Services and helped Sambhali Trust deftly pivot to meet the needs of the families of Rajasthan. Her responsibilities include the educational programs at the empowerment centers, primary education centers, and boarding homes, as well as the scholarship program.
Taking on a new job during the pandemic called for innovation. Long after the girls returned from their homes after the initial Covid lockdown, the schools remained closed due to safety concerns. Rajshree and her team used that time to give the girls computer lessons so that when online learning began, the girls were computer-trained and able to pick up where they left off. In fact, the girls of the Sambhali Trust boarding homes stayed up to date on their studies the entire time.
Rajshree has overseen the creation of Abhayasthali Boarding Home for young women who previously lived at the Sheerni Boarding Home and are now attending college. At first, Sambhali Trust did not plan to continue providing boarding after high school, but the first graduates wanted to continue their studies, and “we knew that once they were back in their villages, they’d be getting married” rather than going to college, observed Rajshree. So Abhayasthali was born, and now the current residents, as well as future Sheerni graduates, have a path to higher education.
Despite her many successes, Rajshree struggles with the constant concern about whether the students at the empowerment centers will be able to attend classes regularly (“family pressures and work at home” often pull them away) and worries for the women who live with abusive husbands. She is sustained by the knowledge that she is making a difference.
“After coming to Sambhali,” she says, “I have a totally different life.” That is something that the girls and women whose lives she has touched can say as well.