I was eight years old. I remember that day clearly like it happened just yesterday.
那时我才8岁。对当天所发生的事，记忆犹新。
My mother is a bidi roller. She hand-rolls country cigarettes to sustain our family.
母亲的养家本事是用手卷一种叫比迪的乡下雪茄。
She is a hard worker and spent 10 to 12 hours every day rolling bidis.
她工作很卖力，每天用上10至12小时卷烟。
That particular day she came home and showed me her bidi-rolling wage book.
有一天，她回到家里，就让我看她的收入账本。
She asked me how much money she has earned that week.
她问我那周她挣了多少钱。
I went through that book, and what caught my eyes were her thumbprints on each page.
我看了看那个账本，注意到每一页都有她的指纹。
My mother has never been to school.
母亲从未上过学。
She uses her thumbprints instead of a signature to keep a record of her earnings.
她用指纹代替签名去记录她的收入。
On that day, for some reason, I wanted to teach her how to hold a pen and write her name.
那一天，我有个想法，要教她拿起笔来，写自己的名字。
She was reluctant at first. She smiled innocently and said no.
开始时，她不太情愿。只微微一笑就说不。
But deep down, I was sure she wanted to give it a try.
但我相信她是想要试试的。
With a little bit of perseverance and a lot of effort, we managed to write her name.
我们坚持练习了一会，要费老大的劲儿，才能让她写出自己的名字。
Her hands were trembling, and her face was beaming with pride.
当时虽然她的手在颤抖，但脸上却闪耀着自豪。
As I watched her do this, for the first time in my life, I had a priceless feeling:
那一刹，是我有生以来第一次，萌生一个有意义的想法：
that I could be of some use to this world.
要对这个世界有所作为。
That feeling was very special, because I am not meant to be useful.
那种感觉非常奇特，我并不注定会是有所作为的。
In rural India, girls are generally considered worthless.
因为女孩子身处于印度偏远地区，被认为是没有用的。
They're a liability or a burden.
只是一种负担和包袱。
If they are considered useful, it is only to cook dishes, keep the house clean or raise children.
如果她们还算有用的话，就只是煮饭和打扫，或者生儿育女。
As a second daughter of my conservative Indian family,
作为印度保守家庭里的第二个女儿，
I was fairly clear from a very early age that no one expected anything from me.
从小我就清楚的知道，没有人会指望我将来能做一点儿事。
I was conditioned to believe that the three identities that defined me -- poor village girl
我要注定背负三个包袱--农村里来、贫穷的、女孩。
meant that I was to live a life of no voice and no choice.
既定成规我是要过一种没有话语权和选择权的生活。
These three identities forced me to think that I should never have been born.
这三个包袱迫使我这样想，我原本不该出生。
Yet, I was. All throughout my childhood, as I rolled bidis alongside my mother, I would wonder: What did my future hold?
我就是那样想的。整个童年，每次我在妈妈身边卷烟的时候，我都很迷茫地问：我将来会怎么样？
I often asked my mother, with a lot of anxiety, "Amma, will my life be different from yours?
又会焦虑的再问母亲，“妈妈，我将来是否可以跟你不一样？
Will I have a chance to choose my life? Will I go to college?"
我有机会选择自己的生活吗？我可以上大学吗？”
And she would reply back, "Try to finish high school first."
她就会回答，“你还是先上完高中才说吧。”
I am sure my mother did not mean to discourage me.
我了解母亲不是成心打击我。
She only wanted me to understand that my dreams might be too big for a girl in my village.
她只想让我明白那些梦想对这个乡村的女孩来说，也许太大了。
When I was 13, I found the autobiography of Helen Keller. Helen became my inspiration.
我在13岁的时候，发现了一本海伦·凯勒的自传。海伦成了我的启迪者。
I admired her indomitable spirit. I wanted to have a college degree like her,
我欣赏她那不屈不挠的精神。我要学她一样能取得大学文凭，
so I fought with my father and my relatives to be sent to college, and it worked.
于是我与父亲及亲戚们争吵，争取上大学的权利，最后我成功了。
During my final year of my undergraduate degree, I desperately wanted to escape from being forced into marriage,
在大学的最后一年，我要拼命摆脱强迫的婚姻，
so I applied to a fellowship program in Delhi, which is about 1,600 miles away from my village.
于是我申请了一个在德尔里的奖学金，那地方离我们的村1600英里。
In fact, I recall that the only way I could fill out the application was during my commute to college.
我记得是在去大学的路上填写那份申请表。
I did not have access to computers, so I had to borrow a college junior's cell phone.
我找不到电脑，只能去借大学高年级同学的手机。
As a woman, I could not be seen with a cell phone,
但女性是不能被看见用手机的，
so I used to huddle his phone under my shawl and type as slowly as possible to ensure that I would not be heard.
那时我总是用披肩遮住手机，尽量慢慢地打字，以防被别人听到。
After many rounds of interviews, I got into the fellowship program with a full scholarship.
数轮面试之后，我获得全额的奖学金。
My father was confused, my mother was worried...
我父亲很困惑，母亲也很担心...
My father was confused, my mother was worried, but I felt butterflies in my stomach
我父亲很困惑，母亲也很担心，而我却无比兴奋，
because I was going to step out of my village for the first time to study in the national capital.
因为这是我头一次可以离开村庄去首都那里学习。
Of the 97 fellows selected that year, I was the only rural college graduate.
那一年共有97名奖学金的获得者，只有我是来自偏远乡村的学生。
There was no one there who looked like me or spoke like me.
我和别人的外表和口音都不一样。
I felt alienated, intimidated and judged by many. One fellow called me "Coconut Girl."
我感觉得很孤立，胆怯，时常被人指指点点。一个同学叫我“椰子姑娘”。
Can you guess why? Anyone? That's because I applied a lot of coconut oil to my hair.
知道为什么吗？有没有人知道？因为我在头发上擦了很多椰子油。
Another asked me where I had learned to speak English,
另一个人问我，我从哪里学的英语，
and some of my peers did not prefer to have me on their assignment teams
还有一些同学，不欢迎我加入他们的功课小组，
because they thought I would not be able to contribute to their discussion.
因为他们认为，我不能在讨论的时候有所贡献。

I felt that many of my peers believed that a person from rural India could not supply anything of value,
我想那些同学认为，一个从印度偏远乡村来的人，不会提出任何有价值的观点，
yet the majority of Indian population today is rural.
而当今大多数的印度人都来自乡村。
I realized that stories like mine were considered to be an exception and never the expectation.
我发现，像我这样的经历只会被当作一个特例，绝不是一个期望。
I believe that all of us are born into a reality that we blindly accept until something awakens us and a new world opens up.
我相信，我们都是生下来就要盲目地接受现实，直到我们被警醒，新世界才向我们敞开大门。
When I saw my mother's first signature on her bidi-rolling wage book,
当我看到母亲卷烟收入账本上的第一个签名时，
when I felt the hot Delhi air against my face after a 50-hour train journey,
是乘坐了50个小时火车之后，当我感觉到德里那燥热的空气吹拂在脸上时，
when I finally felt free and let myself be, I saw a glimpse of that new world I longed for,
当我最终感觉到被赋予生命的自由时，我就看见了那个我所期盼的世界，
a world where a girl like me is no longer a liability or a burden
在那里，像我一样的女孩，不再是负担或包袱，
but a person of use, a person of value and a person of worthiness.
而是个有用和有价值的人，一个有生存价值的人。
By the time my fellowship ended, my life had changed.
当我完成那个奖学金项目的时候，我的人生已经改变了。
Not only had I traced my lost voice, but also had a choice to make myself useful.
不仅我已经找回失去的话语权，也选择作为一个有用的人。
I was 22. I came back to my village to set up the Bodhi Tree Foundation,
那时我22岁。回到自己的村，建立一个叫宝迪树的基金，
an institution that supports rural youth by providing them with education, life skills and opportunities.
这个是个帮助偏远地区年轻人的机构，为他们提供教育、生存技能和机会。
We work closely with our rural youth to change their life and to benefit our communities.
我们和那些年轻人紧密合作，致力于改变他们的生命，为社区创造价值。
How do I know my institution is working? Well, six months ago, we had a new joinee.
我是如何知道我的机构是否取得成效呢？六个月前，我们有个新成员。
Her name is Kaviarasi. I first spotted her in a local college in Tirunelveli during one of my training sessions.
她叫卡瓦拉斯。我在蒂鲁内尔维利的一个当地学院里第一次看到她，当时我正在做培训。
As you can see, she has a smile which you can never forget.
你们可以看到，她的微笑令人难忘。
We guided her to get an opportunity to study at Ashoka University, Delhi.
在我们的引导下，她获得了在德里的爱舍卡大学的学习机会。
The best part of her story is that she is now back at Bodhi Tree as a trainer
最有意义的是，她现在回到了宝迪树做教员，
working with dedication to make a change in the lives of others like her.
兢兢业业地工作，帮助其他像她一样的人，改变命运。
Kaviarasi doesn't want to feel like an exception. She wants to be of use to others in this world.
卡瓦拉斯不想让人觉得她的情况是个特例。她想在这个世界成为一个能帮助别人的人。
Recently, Kaviarasi mentored Anitha, who also comes from a remote, rural village,
最近，卡瓦拉斯辅导了安妮塔，一个也是来自偏远山村的女孩，
lives in a 10-foot-by-10-foot home, her parents are also farm laborers.
住在一个100平方尺的家里，她的父母也是辛勤耕种的农夫。
Kaviarasi helped Anitha secure admission in a prestigious undergraduate program in a top university in India with a full scholarship.
卡瓦拉斯帮她拿到了一个享有盛誉的大学项目入学的录取，而且拿到了这所印度顶尖大学的全额奖学金。
When Anitha's parents were reluctant to send her that far,
当安妮塔的父母不想送她去那么遥远的地方读书时，
we asked the district administration officials to speak to Anitha's parents, and it worked.
我们请求这个地区的领导去说服她的父母，结果成功了。
And then there is Padma. Padma and I went to college together.
接下来，有一个叫帕德玛的。帕德玛和我上同一所大学。
She's the first in her entire village to attend graduation.
她是她们村里第一个大学毕业生。
She had been working with me at Bodhi Tree until one day she decides to go to graduate school. I asked her why.
她一直在宝迪树工作，直到有一天，她决定要去读研究生。我问她为什么。
She told me that she wanted to make sure that she would never be a liability or a burden to anyone at any point in her life.
她说她想确保在她人生中的任何时刻，都不会成为别人的负担或包袱。
Padma, Anitha and Kaviarasi grew up in the most tough families and communities one could only imagine.
帕德玛、安妮塔和卡瓦拉斯，你可以想像到她们都是在最困难家庭和社区中长大的。
Yet the journey of finding my usefulness in this world served them in finding their usefulness to this world.
然而，在我寻找自己价值的旅途中，我帮助了她们发现自己在这个世上的价值。
Of course there are challenges. I'm aware change does not happen overnight.
当然，这个并不容易。我知道这不是可以在一夜之间就能改变的。
A lot of my work involves working with families and communities
很多的工作会牵扯到家庭和社区，
to help them understand why getting an education is useful for everyone.
帮助他们理解为什么子女要接受教育是对每一个人都有用。
The quickest way to convince them is by doing.
最实用的方法去说服他们就是付诸行动。
When they see their kids getting a real education, getting a real job, they begin to change.
当他们看到自己的孩子接受教育之后，得到了工作，他们就开始改变。
The best example is what happened at my home.
最好的例子就是在我家里发生的故事。
I was recently given an award in recognition of my social work by the chief minister of my state.
最近，我们州的州长颁发给我一个奖项，以认可我的社会活动。
That meant I was going to be on television.
这意味我接着要上电视了。
Everyone was hooked on to the television that morning, including my parents.
那天早上，所有我村里的人都被吸引到电视机前，包括我的父母。
I would like to believe that seeing her daughter on television made my mother feel useful too.
我相信，母亲看到自己的女儿上电视，也感觉到她自己也是个有用的人。
Hopefully, she will stop pressuring me to get married now.
希望现在她不要再逼我结婚了。
Finding my use has helped me to break free from the identities society thrusts on me -- poor village girl.
发现自己的价值帮助了我摆脱那个社会强加给我的定义--农村里来、贫穷的女孩。
Finding my use has helped me to break free from being boxed, caged and bottled.
我发现了自己的价值帮助我冲破那框架，牢笼和控制。
Finding my use has helped me to find my voice, my self-worth and my freedom.
我也取得了自己的话语权，自我价值和自由。
I leave you with this thought: Where do you feel useful to this world?
我想留给你们一个想法：在这个世上，哪里才能让你感觉到自己的价值？
Because the answer to that question is where you will find your voice and your freedom. Thank you.
因为这个问题的答案就是那个让你发现自己话语权和自由的地方。谢谢。