category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU CHANDIGARH Garima of Mahendergarh district, Haryana, a visually impaired girl, was given the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar by President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu in the social service category in New Delhi for her gallant initiative of Sakshar Pathshala in which over 1000 students were connected for education by her. The award was presented to 19 youngsters from throughout the country, including Haryana s Garima. Garima, along with all of these children, will participate in the national Republic Day Parade on January 26th. This year, Garima is the only girl from Haryana to receive this honour. Garima, a nine-year-old girl with visual impairment, is a resident of Navdi village, Mahendergarh through her Sakshar Pathshala encourages and inspires the slum people and children the importance of education in one s life and how it leads the path to progress. Garima had faced challenges in her early days of education and then only decided to help those children who do not have any support. She, like her father, wants to be a teacher and contribute to society. Garima s courage and astounding efforts at such a young age propelled her to great heights. Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is given to children between the age of 5 to 18 years who have shown outstanding performance in categories such as bravery, culture, environment, art, science and technology, social service and sports. Total 19 children were selected for the award out of which 4 were in the social service category, Garima is one of them receiving certificate, medal and a citation booklet. Garima believes that education is a fundamental right and a vital component of a child s life as it even allows them to contribute to the progress of the country. With this goal in mind, the Haryana government has implemented many initiatives to ensure that no child is excluded from education. (editor dailyworld.in)