Niranjan’s family migrated from a remote village in Bihar in central India to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh for better work opportunities. His father works in the brick kilns of Kanpur to pay off his accumulated debts. Niranjan and his siblings now study in the Apna Skool education center operational near the brick kiln where they reside. Thirteen year old Niranjan is a very bright student and particularly enjoys doing science experiments.

Sadly, his father was an alcoholic and would often quarrel with his mother about petty issues. Niranjan’s association with Apna Skool, brought him in contact with the Apna Skool teachers who he told of his problems at home. Through the Bal Sabha (Children’s conference) held once a month in Apna Skool, he came to know about the health hazards of drinking and smoking. He promptly started explaining these aspects to his folks at home, especially his father. It is heartening to see that his father is now determined to give up drinking altogether. The positive effect of this is already evident through the extra savings that the family has now. Niranjan feels that his access to education has paved the way for a better future for himself and his family.

Your donation will encourage him further to realize his dreams. Thank you, Craig, for providing Niranjan with an invaluable year of school. His hope for a brighter future grows daily.

12 year old Sajiya is a student at one of the Apna Skool education centers in Kanpur, India. Her father is a construction worker and her mother takes care of the household, including Sajiya’s elder sister and two elder brothers.

Sajiya is very shy and demure but strong willed and always ready to be of service to others. Her ambition is to become a doctor and she is determined to offer free medication to all that need it.

Your donation, Kandace, will give a child like Sajiya the opportunity to stay in school for another year. Thank you for supporting Jagriti and Sajiya!

12 year old Shabana is an extremely bright and sprightly student at one of the Apna Skool education centers run by Jagriti in Kanpur, North India. She suffers from bone tuberculosis, which she contracted when she was three years old. She and her siblings live near the Apna Skool. They also work occasionally as rag-pickers to support themselves, as they lost their mother when they were very young and thir father abandoned them. Until very recently, Shabana lived with her grandmother, but she unfortunately passed away in a recent train accident.

Shabana is determined to study as long as possible. Your donation will help a child like Shabana continue with her studies despite the trying circumstances that she lives with daily. Thank you for giving such a deserving individual support during their trying times!

11 year old Vishal’s parents migrated from a village in northern India to the city of Kanpur in search of better work opportunities. Vishal’s father is not very supportive and does not stay with the family so all responsibility falls on his mother, who is a daily wage laborer.

Vishal has two elder sisters and one elder brother, but only Vishal and his sister Roli (class 3) go to school. They both attend classes at the Apna Skool Education Center in Dhamikheda, which is operated by Jagriti Bal Vikas Samiti.

Vishal shows a special interest in science classes. He enjoys painting sessions at the school and is interested in playing cricket and soccer. He takes enthusiastic part in tree planting and has a helping nature like his sister.

Vishal’s greatest ambition is to become a policeman. Your support will help someone like Vishal stay in school for another year. Thank you for your generosity!

Gauri and her three siblings are enrolled in the Apna School Education Center in Kanpur, India. Gauri’s father works as a daily wage laborer while her mother cares for their children.

Gauri has a strong interest in painting — she chose to combine this with her interest in the environment by creating an exhibit for the Science Mela (exhibition), which you can see in the attached photo. Gauri likes to play badminton and dreams of one day becoming an expert player. She wants to keep studying as long as she can and be a good role model for all her younger siblings.

Your donation, Marysol, Tom, Anjana, Google, and Subash, provides a year of schooling to someone like Gauri. Thank you for supporting Jagriti Bal Vikas Samiti and helping someone like Gauri realize her dreams.

Fourteen year old Tarannum is currently studying in her ninth grade in Purna Devi Inter College,Gumti, Kanpur. Her father, Sultan Khan is a rickshaw-puller and her mother, Kamar Jahan works as a cook. She has four younger sisters. While three of her sisters Anjum, Nahid and Muskan are studying at Apna Skool Dhamikheda, one of her sister works as a cook, on the same lines as her mother.

Tarannum draws her inspiration from her parents who are educated and puts their level best effort to make their kids educated. Tarannum is very good in studies and is known for being the most sincere student of her class. Besides studying, she likes reading newspapers, playing with skipping ropes, typing, cooking, sewing, embroidery and singing. She washes the clothes for the entire family. She wants to pursue engineering.

Thank you, Navneetfor your donation of a set of two uniforms and study materials for an entire year.

Thank you,Melissa, Anil and Adam, for together donation a full year of nutritious lunches and snacks to Tarannum.

Thank you, George, for donation a full year of medical care.

Thank you for your support. Knowing you are on her side would motivate Tarannum to attend school regularly and perform well.

Thank you for coming together to provide an entire year of schooling to Nilesh.

Thirteen year old Nilesh’s parents migrated to Kanpur from the Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh in search of work. They reside in Dhamikheda, a semi-permanent settlement in Kanpur city. Nilesh’s father, Ram Sidhar, is a daily wage worker and his mother is a vegetable vendor. Though neither of them has had much schooling, Nilesh’s parents are doing all they can to ensure that all their children have a good education. Nilesh has three siblings, all of whom have been a part of the Apna Skool programme. His elder brothers, Shailesh and Sarvesh, both did their primary education at Apna Skool centers and are now in secondary school. Nilesh is in grade 5 at the Apna Skool education centre in Dhamikheda, and looks forward to graduating to a mainstream secondary school next year.

Thirteen year old Nilesh has an inquisitive mind and particularly enjoys mathematics and science. He wants to become a teacher when he grows up. He would like to open up opportunities for children like him and instill in them the joy of attending school and learning new things.

Fourteen year old Sonia  is a student of Grade 9 in a mainstream local school.  She was initially enrolled at an Apna Skool centre and studied there till 5^th grade, but since her family showed that they were keen on ensuring she got a good education, Jagriti helped get her enrolled in a mainstream school.

Sonia’s father, Sukhlal, works as a welder and her two elder brothers are engaged as his assistants in the trade. Her  siblings have also been a part of the Apna Skool education centre and are now enrolled in mainstream schools in the Kanpur city. Her older sister, Gita, is now in Grade 11 at Jawahar Lal Nehru Inter College and younger brother, Umesh, in Grade 8 of Swami Vivekananda Vidyalaya at Lodhar. All her siblings are talented and very good in their studies.

Sonia is not far behind either, she is a bundle of energy and talents too!  She loves to take part in street plays, staged by the children of Apna Skool and is a good dancer too. Also, she is good at artwork, glass painting, embroidery and rangolis (a form of Indian traditional sandpainting decoration that uses finely ground white and coloured powders).  She also participated enthusiastically  in the Bal Mela, an Annual  Children’s Fair.

Last year, as proof to her artistic talents, she won the second place in a Mehendi (the art of painting elaborate patterns on the skin with henna) competition held at the Kanpur Zoological Park.

She believes the Apna Skool experience has boosted her self-confidence and she has also gained a broader understanding of the world around her. Her favorite subject in School has been Social Studies. When she grows up, she aspires to become a Detective!

Thank you so much, Rosemarie, for donating a year of study materials to Sonia.

Thank you, Susan, for donating two sets of school uniforms to Sonia.

Thank you, Julian, for donating an entire year of comprehensive medical care to Sonia.

Thank you, Glenn, for donating an entire year of school lunches to Sonia.

Your generosity will ensure that Sonia is able to rise to her full potential.

Ten year old Sangeeta, has been transformed since enrolling into Apna Skool. Sangeeta’s father, Ram Lakhan, and mother, Yashoda, are migrant workers from Chattisgarh in Central India,  engaged as laborers at construction sites in Kanpur, UP.

Sangeeta has three siblings- two elder sisters (15 and 13 years old) and one younger brother (8 years old) . The eldest sister is married and living with her family. Sangeeta’s parents had to be relentlessly pursued and persuaded for two years before they agreed to enroll the rest of the children into school.

The rewards are already showing up in Sangeeta’s life: from wandering about aimlessly, she now finds purpose and joy in school, she has become very disciplined, and is also aware of the need to keep herself and the neighborhood clean. She also willingly takes part in the household responsibilities. When she grows up, Sangeeta wants to run a school for poor children, so she can pass on her love of learning to them.

Thank you, Valerie and Jerry,  for donating a year of study materials to Sangeeta.

Thank you, Vidyadhar, Kim and Ron for coming together to donate a full year of medical care to Sangeeta.

Thank you, Debra Steve, for gifting an entire year of school lunches to Sangeeta.

Thank you, Tripta, for gifting two sets of school uniforms to Sangeeta.

Your generosity will ensure that Sangeeta is able to rise to her full potential.

Eight year old Sarita  is a student of Grade 1 in Apna Skool. She has two brothers and two sisters.

Sarita was orphaned at a very young age and has been living under the care of one of  her brothers and his wife.  Both her brothers are  brick kiln workers in Kanpur, UP.  Her sisters are married and settled with their families.  Being the youngest in the family, Sarita is expected to do all the household chores in the family. Attending Apna Skool indeed is a welcome break in her routine.

Sarita likes to eat kheer (an Indian dessert) and water melons and enjoys reciting rhymes.  Being blind in one eye and experiencing occasional difficulty seeing with the other eye, Sarita aspires to become an Eye Doctor, so she can gift sight to other people.

Thank you, Rosemarie, for donating a year of study materials to Sarita.

Thank you, Craig and Employees of Microsoft for coming together to provide an entire year of comprehensive medical care to Sarita.

Thank you, Lisa, for gifting an entire year of school lunches to Sarita.

Thank you, Tripta, for gifting two sets of school uniforms to Sarita.

Your generosity will ensure that Sarita is able to rise to her full potential.