"Like many in my community, we depend solely on my father’s earnings. He is a daily wage earner and works in a marble factory. We live in a rented accommodation and the rent is so high, that it leaves very little to meet monthly expenses let alone pay for schooling.
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"I am going to fulfil my mother’s dreams and support her like she supported me."
Nirmal’s mother has been her strongest pillar in her journey. Her father did not support her getting an education past eighth standard. Her mother convinced her father to allow her to go for higher studies.
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“She has truly been a mother to me, and also a guardian for my child. When he was born healthy and fit, didi too had tears in her eyes"
Both Kamla and her husband are uneducated and neither are they aware about the need of healthy and nutritious food for an expecting mother.
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"I don’t feel I am any less than others and the Swabhiman scholarship has not only empowered me but has also given me more courage.”
Convinced by a team of volunteers from Swabhiman programme...
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"My father does not understand English but he loves to hear me use it."
A temporary driver struggling for the survival of his family of six, Shalu’s father never thought of enrolling her in school.
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“Education is sacred for us. Many of our parents haven’t stepped in a school. Hundreds of boys and girls who starve for knowledge, struggle through many hardships and challenges. But they do not want to give up on learning.
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"I want to improve the conditions that my parents live in. I am working towards it."
Last year, Yogita was awarded with a merit-based scholarship under Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme to help her complete her schooling and higher studies.
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"I will work as hard as my parents do now so that they can rest when I get a job.”
Uma’s mother is her greatest pillar of support. When her father lost his job four years ago Uma’s mother started to work as a maid.
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"I’’ll take my mother on a vacation after I get a job. She has never been on one.”
Parul’s mother does labour work at construction sites with her husband. She works just as hard, but gets paid only half of what her husband earns.
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"I was sick for the longest time and had lost all hope of giving birth"
Due to her husband’s repeated demands and the constant pressures from her family for a child, Neetu had conceived four timers in two years but was unable to give birth due to her failing health.
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There are many girls in my locality who have never got a chance to go to school. When your family struggles for basic needs every day, education no more remains a priority. This was my story too. I, along with my siblings, spent most of my time at home.
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The scholarship is a hope for me & my family because this is the only support by which I can complete my studies.Pinki’s father irons clothes for a living. With his small earning he can only manage to provide the minimum requirement...
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"I was made aware that taking care of my three children was more important than conceiving repeatedly. I am glad I was made aware.”
Shahin, is a 26 year old resident of Mahatma Gandhi Camp. She has 3 children, two boys aged 8 and 7 years and a girl aged 3 year.
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"My mother wants me to have a job. She always wanted to work but she never could. I am going to make her proud."
15-year-old Rukhsar is probably not the only girl who wants to fulfill her mother’s dreams. Her mother Mussarat has always been encouraging her to focus on education.
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"I never realized that girls were equal to boys until now.”
Shahid had grown up in a society which believed that boys were superior and girls were only fit to be married and bear children.
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