Jyoti joined an Akanksha school in 2011. Having never attended school before, she struggled with phonics and letter recognition in grade one. By grade two she was able to write stories with imagination and wonder.
The Princess with the longest hair
There was a princess. Her name was Parineeta. She had beautiful hair. People adorned her hair with beautiful jewels. She was feeling unhappy and miserable because her parents wanted her to get married. She was staring outside her window and wondering what is behind the mountain. Suddenly she went outside the palace. The moon was shimmering, the stars were twinkling. The wind was blowing and it was a marvellous night. First she met a woman with a poor baby. They did not have any clothes to wear. Parents saw the poor baby was lying down in the road. Parineeta gave a handful of hair to the woman to make a ‘chadar’ for her baby. Second she met fish folk. The fish folk nets were torn. Then she gave the fish folk a handful of her hair to mend their nets. Next she went to a cowshed. The roof was broken. She took a handful of hair and repaired the cowshed roof. She was feeling the joy of giving and delighted. Parineeta was caring, helpful kind and generous. I want to be like Parineeta.
Tapping unlimited potential
Salman Sayyed dropped out of school in the second grade. He was still a young boy when an Akanksha teacher spotted him selling books in Mumbai. She found it remarkable that he had taught himself to read his books. She encouraged him to attend daily classes over a number of years at a nearby Akanksha centre. When he re-entered education, he performed at the top of his class and passed his HSC exams (equivalent to GSCEs) with flying colours. He is now pursuing further education at K.C. College, Mumbai.
“Back in 2006 I had know idea what to do, and my life was full of difficulty. Akanksha helped me choose and enter the career that I wanted. I want to become an interior designer, and it was very difficult to go to college for this. Now I am studying in college and in two years I’ll become what I wanted to become. This all is possible because of Akanksha.” Anmol Paswam
Years with Akanksha: 6 Rachna Sansad College
“I entered the world of privileged children in 2011. I know that this is the chance of a
lifetime for me. It is a God given gift. I learned to interact with children who do not have the same background as me. I am learning to speak English fluently and learning how to respect my teachers. Akanksha has been like a temple and is helping me to reach my goal: to get an excellent education. Education is the ticket out of the slums and my teacher is putting in so much effort to see that I shine like a star in the sky.”
Arti Chauhan
Level: 9 GD Somani Centre