Maidul’s father, Noor Hussain, and her mother, Fatima, work as ragpickers. The entire family migrated from Barbata district in Assam to  Kanpur city in UP , in search of better livelihood.  Maidul has two brothers and two sisters and he is the youngest in the family.

7 year old Maidul and his siblings assist their parents in their work in the mornings. He and his elder sister Marjina, attend Apna Skool in the afternoon.  He is now studying in the 2nd grade.

Maidul enjoys reading books, playing cricket and is very skilled Bihu dancer ( a popular folk dance form of Assam). Maidul realises the importance of hygiene ever since he started attending school. He  is the darling of the family, neat in appearance and always respectful to  elders. Laddoos and Kheer are his favourite sweets. Maidul would like to become a teacher when he grows up.

Thank you, Ritesh, for donation two sets of school uniforms to Maidul.

Thank you Rose Marie for your donation of a year of study materials to Maidul.

Thank you, Carlos, for your donation of a full year of school lunches for Maidul.

Thank you, Peter and Kim, Kandace, Brian and Malissa, Tom and Kara, for coming together to donate a full year of comprehensive medical care to Maidul.

Your generosity will give Maidul a chance for a better future.

Parvil’s family consists of nine members. Along with her parents, Lalita and Sumetar, who work in Jaiswal Brick Kiln at Kanpur, UP, there are two elder brothers, one younger brother, and three elder sisters.  Parvil had no option of going to school, since all elder members are engaged at the kilns and despite her tender age, she had to look after her younger brother and do household chores.

Ten year old Parvil is now enrolled in  Apna Skool . After being in the school, she has learnt to  pay special attention to be personally clean and properly attired and attends to keeping the environment neat.  She enjoys reciting poems, and play with skipping rope. She aims to continue schooling so that she does not have to remain as a brick worker when she grows up. She would rather like to teach others.

Thank you, Charlotte for donating a year of study materials to Parvil.

Thank you, Rob, for donating a two sets of school uniforms to Parvil.

Thank you, Casey (x2) and Michael for together donating a full school year of school lunches to Parvil.

Thank you, Cameron, for donating a full year of medical care to Parvil.

Your generosity goes a long way in giving Parvil a chance to escape the grinding poverty that has been her fate.

Hema’s parents Raso (mother) and Birju (father) migrate from Bihar with their entire family for six months in a year to work in the Brick kilns of Kanpur, UP. Together with her two brothers and one sister  they make up in all six persons in the family, and because of their migratory lifestyle, none of the children is enrolled in a formal school.

Hema studies in grade two at Apna Skool, the community educational center run by Jagriti near her house, and she especially enjoys reading story books while in school. She likes to play kho-kho and enjoys playing on the swings with friends. She has learnt to be neat and meticulous, bathes and brushes her teeth everyday and keep her nails properly trimmed. She would like to become a teacher when she grows up and teach many children. She helps her mother in household chores. She likes to be of assistance to neighbors and the elderly.

Thank you, Bri, for donating a year of study materials to Hema.

Thank you, Adam, for donating a set of two school uniforms to Hema.

Thank you, Nandini, for donating a full year of school lunches to Hema.

Thank you, Vijaya, for donating a full year of medical care to Hema.

Because of your generosity, Hema has been given a chance to get an education.

Fourteen year old Ram Singh is studying in grade 9 at a mainstream school in Hamirpur UP. He was initially enrolled at an Apna Skool centre and studied there till 5^th grade, but since his family showed that they were keen on ensuring he got a good education, Jagriti helped get him enrolled in a mainstream school.  Ram Singh and his two younger siblings are studying. Ram Singh’s parents migrated to Kanpur in search of work and have been working in brick kilns since 2004.

Ram Singh shows a keen interest in books related to science and enjoys a good game of football.  He wants to become a soldier when he grows up and serve the Armed Forces.

Thank you RoseMarie, for donating a year of study materials to Ram Singh.

Thank you, Maryanna, Peter and Kim, Steve, Stacy (x2), Dennis (x2), Peter  (x2), Adam, Elena and Shanen, and David, for coming together to ensure that Ram Singh’s tuition expenses is taken care of for an entire year.

She dislikes liquor drinking, which is indulged in by her father, since it leads to fighting between her parents. This bothers her much and she laments that her father persists even when he is advised not to. She thinks she would like to become a teacher, since education gives people knowledge and understanding.

Thank you, Bri, for donating a year of school supplies and study materials to Dullo.

Thank you Casey (x2), and Jerame for together donating a full year of school lunches to Dullo.

Thank you, Mahendra, for donating a year of comprehensive medical care to Dullo.

Thank you, Rob, for donating a set of two school uniforms to Dullo.

Your generosity will take Dullo one step closer to becoming a change leader in her community.

Eleven year old Kalimuddin studies in grade 1 at an Apna Skool education centre in Kanpur. His family migrated from Barbata in Assam and his parents Sidique Ali and Marjeena are both rag pickers. The children are engaged in rag collecting and sifting for recyclable things from 5 AM to 1 PM, so the Apna Skool near this locality begins only at 2 PM. Kalamuddin is a serious student and works hard with his lessons.

Kalimuddin’s family and their community of rag pickers live in a small cluster of makeshift dwellings constructed out of polythene sheets and other waste material. They set up their ‘baastis‘ wherever they find a vacant piece of public land. Earlier the Apna Skool centre was located close to their baasti, but when the illegally constructed baasti was demolished, the entire community had to move to a new location several miles away. The children now have to travel about 4.5 miles to get to school and back.

Kalimuddin not only wants to maintain his link to the Apna Skool, he wants the other displaced children to go to school too. He has, therefore, voluntarily taken on the task to brining four younger children to school in a make-shift cart tied to his bicycle. The long journey, which is undertaken after a full day of working as a rag-picker tires him out, but his desire for an education and for ensuring the education of other children is so great that he undertakes it quite cheerfully.

Thank you, Praveena/ Srikanth, for donating one full year of nutrition and one full year of medical care to Kalimuddin.  The meal he receives at Apna Skool is the only good meal he gets in a day, and the medical check ups will ensure that he remains physically strong.

Thank you, Scott, for donating two sets of uniforms to Kalimuddin.

Thank you, Anna, for donating a year of study materials.

Your generosity would ensure that Kalimuddin continues to attend school and serve as role model for other children in his community.

Dharmendra’s family consists of six members- he has two older brothers and a sister. His parents, Baso and Maheshwar, work as clay kneaders at the Brick kiln in Kanpur, UP. Dharmendra also lends his hand at brick making apart from doing household work along with his sister. Dharmendra, being the youngest in the family is the only member of the family exposed to schooling, all the rest remaining illiterate.

Dharmendra enjoys going to Apna Skool and looks forward to become a Soldier. Why? Because he finds his father is habituated to drinking and when inebriated becomes violent and beats the mother and children and everyone in the family feel helpless at such times. As a soldier he believes he will prevent people from being beaten. Dharmendra likes reading books and writing stories. He enjoys playing outdoor games like Kabbaddi. He dreams about writing a book about himself.

Thank you, Ritesh, for donating two sets of school uniforms to Dharmendra.

Thank you, Bri, for donating a year of study materials to Dharmendra.

Thank you, Anjana, and Mamta (x2),  for donating a year of lunches to Dharmendra.

Thank you, UBS, for providing a a year of medical check-ups to Dharmendra.

Your generosity will ensure that Dharmendra is able to rise to his full potential.

Thirteen year old Adarsh*, a student of Grade 5,  has been a student of  Apna Skool since Grade 1. Adarsh’s  father, Ghanshyam, and his mother, Suman, migrated from the Itawa district  to Kanpur city, in search of work. His father works as a labourer in a construction site at Dhamikheda. Adarsh has four sisters and three brothers. While three of his sisters are married, the fourth studies in Grade 2 at the Apna Skool education centre.

Adarsh is enthusiastic in taking part in plays, enjoys drawing and loves singing. On completing school, he aspires to become a policeman.

Your donations of a week of schooling each, Subhash (x4), Felix, Rekha (x5), Ron (x6), Rick (x4), Suren (x2), Julie (x2), Senthil (x4), Carroll (x4), Marty & Lorraine (x4), Sandra (x4), Steve (x4), and Pradeep (x4), meet Adarsh’s educational needs for an entire year.

Thank you so much, Subhash, Felix, Rekha, Ron, Rick, Suren, Julie, Senthil, Carroll, Marty & Lorraine, Sandra, Steve, and Pradeep, for coming together to support Adarsh.

*Name changed to protect identity

Thirty eight year old Urmila has been a teacher at Apna Skool for over three years. Initially, she taught at the Apna Skool Center at the Murari Brick-kiln and later moved on to the Apna Skool Center at Dhamikheda, where she is currently posted. She holds a Masters in Computer Application and a Masters in Computer Science. She has worked on a number of projects in various institutions including IIT Kanpur before she realized she wanted to become a teacher and work with marginalized children.

Though Urmila can earn much more money in other jobs, the satisfaction she gets from teaching the children at the Apna Skool centers is unparalleled and unique. According to her, teaching these kids is a very challenging task but nevertheless a joyful and fulfilling experience. She takes active interest in using the various teaching tools so that the kids can be made to grasp the concepts in a better and a more friendlier way as compared to the conventional rote method of learning.

Urmila has a five-member family. She has a ten-year old daughter.  Her husband is currently unemployed as he recently lost his job. So, she is the only bread earner for the family. She manages to earn around Rs. 5000 per month(about 110 $) by teaching at the Apna Skool and also conducting private tuitions at her home. Inspite of the tough times, Urmila looks forward to serve the society. She is happy that she is playing her part by being a teacher at the Apna Skool. She takes interest in social service and teaching yoga.

She says, “I love playing with children. Whenever there is play-time, I literally become a kid. Additionally, I always try to practice Yoga myself and teach them to the children.”

Thank you, Tom, Phyllis (x2), Susan and James, Felix (x4), Vikram (x2) and Katelyn (x2), for coming together to support Urmila for three months. With  your assistance, she can continue reaching out to children who would otherwise never have access to quality education.

Ten year old Kajal’s father, Shera is a carpenter while her mother, Radha works as an attendant at a dental hospital in the city of Kanpur (India).

Kajal is currently studying in the fourth grade. In a family of three sisters and two brothers, she assists the family in preparing food and doing other household chores. She also teaches her younger brother Sameer for one hour daily. She likes studying, particularly English. She is fond of reading jokes in newspapers, singing devotional songs and playing badminton. Her ambition is to study hard and become a lawyer.

Thank you, Michelle, Pooja and Arvind, for together donating one full year of school lunches.

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

Thank you, Mahendra, for ensuring a year of medical care.

Thank you so much, Peter and Mahendra, for your thoughtful gifts which has helped meet Kajal’s educational needs for an entire year. Your support is much appreciated.