Meet Nikini, Room to Read student and runner making history for her school

Eighteen-year-old Nikini lives in a historically low-income district of Sri Lanka. She comes from a big family; growing up, she lived with her mother, stepfather, three brothers and sister. Her family, like many of their neighbors, has often struggled financially. Her stepfather is a fisherman and her mother a daily wage worker, making it challenging to sufficiently provide for the family. 

When Nikini started secondary school in 2016 she joined Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program. Koshila, her social mobilizer, remembers her as one of the shyest students in her year; she often hesitated to speak during life skills sessions. Koshila also quickly noticed that Nikini missed many days of class. When Koshila asked Nikini’s mother about her absences, she shared: "both my husband and I have to work every day to make ends meet, teacher, and we have no one to look after our two youngest children until we return home. We ask Nikini to look after them instead of going to school." Although the school was only 500 meters away from her house, Nikini was at risk of losing her education.  

After learning more about her home situation, Koshila made regular visits to Nikini’s house to reiterate to the family how important it was to support Nikini’s education. Koshila spent many hours talking to Nikini’s parents about how girls’ education can open doors to many opportunities, like the chance to have a promising future with a fixed-income job.

"I started by helping Nikini build a timetable at home so she could look after her siblings and still find time to do her school work. I brought her homework from school which I thought would help her miss her time at school and meeting her friends."

After many visits to Nikini’s house and persistent requests from Koshila, Nikini finally returned to school. She was timid at first. She found it difficult to connect with her peers. But Koshila knew that Room to Read’s life skills sessions would support Nikini in overcoming her fears. Through both individual and group mentoring, Nikini started to understand the importance of communication skills, teamwork, time management and confidence. Koshila enrolled Nikini in Room to Read drama classes to challenge her to persevere through discomfort. Nikini was hesitant to be on stage.

"I really can’t do this, teacher," she said. "I feel shy to speak in front of everyone."

Koshila encouraged her to use the experience to build confidence. In time, Nikini found her voice on stage. She began participating in other extracurricular activities. Her studies improved. And she joined the school track team.






It didn't take long for Nikini to realize she was a skilled middle-distance runner. She found she could win — again and again! Her teachers recognized her athletic talent and encouraged her to apply for provincial athletic competitions. 

Nikini was once again hesitant. "I love to take part in the provincial games, teacher," she shared with her social mobilizer. "But my parents don’t have money to buy running shoes. I must also maintain good nutrition to run in these games. I don’t know what to do."

Nikini's social mobilizers acted quickly, securing running shoes and ensuring Nikini had access to the nutritious food that would fuel her race. Nikini went on to win first place in the 1500-meter and second place in the 800-meter in a competition that brought together student-athletes from across Sri Lanka's North-Western province. It was the first time a student from Nikini’s school had won a race in a provincial game. Nikini qualified to participate in national athletic meets as a professional runner.

"Teacher, we don’t even have a proper track in our school for me to practice. It is an uneven ground which has potholes," Nikini said. "But I will not lose hope. I decided I was going to go all the way the day I received my running shoes!"

"A few years back," she continued, "I was an ordinary girl who looked after my siblings without going to school. It was only five minutes from my house and I still did not go. Thanks to Room to Read, I understand the value of education. Learning life skills helped me overcome my shyness and discover talents I never knew I had! Thanks to school, I can now dream of becoming Sri Lanka’s next-best runner," Nikini said, beaming with joy.