I volunteer once a week at Meri Pathshala during reading and writing time. One afternoon I noticed a girl holding her book almost against her nose. She squinted constantly, blinked too fast and leaned so far forward that her forehead nearly touched
the page. Her name is Zoya and in her teacher’s note, it has been mentioned that Zoya often avoided copying from the board and hesitated during reading tasks. My team lead advised me to observe her more closely over the next few days. She asked
me to pay attention to small things like,
- if she kept pulling the book closer
- if she tilted her head frequently
- if she blinked too much while copying
- if she lost her place on the page
- if her handwriting changed after a few lines
I watched her quietly during different activities and soon it became clear that something was affecting her vision. I shared this with my team lead, and the trust arranged an eye checkup. I went along with her, and the doctor confirmed that she needed glasses urgently. The change was immediate. The moment she wore them, her posture relaxed and she looked at the page with a confidence I had not seen before.
With her eyesight finally corrected, I expected her to settle into the regular reading routine. Instead, I was surprised when she returned to my group the following week and continued to struggle. That is when I realised she is in Class Five, yet her reading ability is closer to that of a Class Two child. While her classmates write paragraphs and essays, she still pauses at almost every line. This gap is not a reflection of her potential.
It is the quiet result of years spent trying to learn from words she could not fully see. So we began again from the beginning.
Short sentences.
Daily reading practice.
Paired reading to reduce pressure.
Small gains noticed and encouraged.
Over time she has gained confidence and she now reads without squinting, holds her book normally and participates more willingly. Last week she read an entire page with steady focus, a quiet achievement that felt enormous. This experience has made me realise that showing up once a week is not enough. Zoya needs more steady support, and so did the other children who are quietly struggling. I have already submitted a request to increase my volunteer hours to three days a week,
for a total of up to four hours. It feels like the right thing to do.
What I appreciate most about working with Meri Pathshala is the space it gives us to pause, observe and truly understand each child. We are able to notice what might otherwise be missed and respond in ways that change a child’s entire learning journey.
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