“I have a dream of becoming an IAS officer and the training I am undergoing at this camp at Deepanjalinagar township of NTPC has given me the confidence to achieve it,” says Bhavyasri, who passed out fifth class from Andhra Pradesh Residential School at Thanam near Parawada.

She is among 120 girls selected mostly from government schools for a residential and fun-based training programme that began on May 13 and will continue till June 9. The students have been accommodated in AC rooms at a guest house. Food prepared by Akshaya Patra is being served to them by the members of Deepika Ladies Club.

“For children from poor financial background, it is a thrilling experience. We are learning a lot about personal hygiene, self-defence and art. Not only the food and ambience in the classrooms of Bal Bharati School, the venue for our training progrmame, the warmth of the teachers and employees of NTPC and their family members are very touchy,” says I. Gitasri who hails from Swayambuvaram near Parawada. Daughter of contract worker Prakash Rao, she says lessons on music and computers fascinated her.

Free education

Aptly named Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM), girls in the age group of 10 to 12 years from BPL families were chosen for the programme during summer vacation as part of CSR initiative by NTPC Simhadri Super Thermal Power Project. “We will make it an annual feature and admit the 10 best students from the current batch for giving free education at Bal Bharati Public School,” NTPC Simhadri Chief General Manager V. Sudharshan Babu told The Hindu.

Besides yoga, the students are also encouraged to take part in arts and crafts and various games including kho-kho. NTPC has tied up with Hyderabad-based NGO Aware Group for implementation of the programme.

The objective of GEM is to give an exposure to the girls and expand their horizon. The syllabus is designed to cover how to improve quality of life, importance of education, discipline, self-defence, personal hygiene, cleanliness, health consciousness, soft skills, awareness on gender issues and hormonal changes and cyber security.

“During my interaction, I found most of the students are very enthusiastic. With the right exposure and support, they can come out with flying colours in life,” opines Bal Bharati Public School-Deepanjalinagar principal M. Padmaja.

NTPC Simhadri is taking up various programmes worth ₹5 crore under CSR during current financial year.