Skill in Village
Yellamma Ramanagoudra is a cheerful grade 10 student studying in Government High School in Adargunchi village of Dharwad, Karnataka. Youngest in the family of five, Yellamma comes from Kotgondhunshi, a village in the northern part of Karnataka. She smiles as she shares her fondness for her supportive grandmother and different languages. Her passion for new languages guides her zeal to learn English. “My exposure to the English language had been limited largely to textbooks, but I wanted to learn English as a language and not merely as a school subject.”, says Yellamma, with an appetite for learning.
When one of the Skill in Village (SiV) teachers reached her school as part of the mobilization, the introduction to the program piqued her interest. “I felt this would be a great learning opportunity, and even my teachers encouraged me to join the program”, says Yellamma. Consequently, she convinced her parents to let her join the program. Yellamma had been yearning to enhance her verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and the program came in at the right time to assist her in her aspirations.
Exhilarated, Yellamma shares, "All of the SiV classes were filled with fun learning activities. This program has helped me overcome my fear of talking on stage before multiple people. Knowing how to speak in English has made me more confident". Her language-learning graph has climbed exponentially, allowing her to compete in multiple events in her school, without hesitation.
The Skill in Village team encouraged Yellamma to join the Indian School of Leadership (ISL) camp, an ecosystem that identifies capable young people from diverse backgrounds and equips them with the skills and network to develop into value-driven leaders who can solve complex problems in their communities. She had to go through multiple interviews to get selected for the camp. Yellamma says, “it took a while for me to convince my parents to let me attend the camp at Hyderabad. Finally, they made their inquiry at Deshpande Foundation and permitted me to go ahead”. Her family was ecstatic when they learned about her selection for the camp.
Yellamma aspires to be a doctor and help the people of her village. But one thing she wishes to start immediately is to inspire more children in her community, through her story. She also wants to work continuously towards building her knowledge and help them with their education, so that they prosper and achieve their dreams.