A Second Parent Brings Hope

Everyone has parents, but if you’re lucky, you might meet someone who becomes like a second parent to you. For some, that’s a Godparent, and for others, a teacher. For young women like Pushpa, it’s her Chalice sponsor. 

Pushpa, the youngest of three girls, grew up in a small village near our Assam site in India with her sisters and parents. Her father eventually went to a bigger city to look for work, and her mother found daily wage work nearby. But it wasn’t enough to keep the girls in school. 

“My parents struggled a lot to take care of us,” Pushpa recalls. “Whatever my parents earned was used for feeding the family and for our education.” 

During a time of great difficulty, her oldest sister dropped out of school to work. 

In that crucial moment, “Chalice came as a guardian angel to our aid,” Pushpa says. She and Ursula, her other sister, were both chosen by sponsors. From the onset, it made a difference. Her parents could now save money for a home, and they eventually bought a piece of land. On it, they built a two-room house for the family. 

Pushpa and Ursula continued their studies, but the story doesn’t end there. Pushpa is in her first year of university, and one day dreams of being a teacher. That way she can, in her own words, “help those who are underprivileged in the society through education.” 

Her sponsor is like a second parent to her because they’ve helped her and Ursula achieve their dreams. 

“In the village even, my friends are encouraged by seeing our life… I am confident that children like us can become the symbols of bright future through Chalice,” she says.