Finally the waiting is over, and the grades are in.  The national ISCE and ISC board exam results were announced today, as many in the Shanti Bhavan family glued to the computer all day.

For the 10th and 12th grade students who took the ISCE and ISC exams, respectively, this year in March, today is the day they will never forget. At three in the afternoon the exam results announced that the entire the 12th grade graduated with first class, and the 10th graders, nineteen out of a class of twenty, scored first class.

Seventeen year old Catherine Prakash would no longer complain about all the moments she sat in class enviously watching the younger children on the playground and the movies she had to miss until the exams got over, as she now basks in the glow of having topped the class with a distinction of 86 percentage.

As hard work and perseverance have yielded fruit, Catherine is now filled with thoughts of college and the road ahead. She has already gotten admission in Mount Carmel, a prestigious all girls’ college in Bangalore. Expressing her jumble of emotions in words she writes on Facebook, “I have topped the class with 86%. I want to thank all those wonderful people, especially the volunteers and teachers who were there for me always. A special thanks to Jessie Sherman, Miss Lynn, Dr. Becky, Vikas, Komal Desai, Jaya, Fanny, Lizzy and many others I haven’t mentioned. You were all a great support and I am so grateful to each one of you. Thank you.”

Her classmate, Shashi Shekar who is a business stream student, follows closely behind with a score of 82, and science student, Prem Prasad, came third in rank also with 82.  Similarly for 10th graders, Papitha was hailed as the topper with a score of 81 percentage. Also for Punith who scored 80.1 percentage, the dream of pursuing medicine is now an attainable goal as their performance in the ISCE exams are crucial for the kind of course work they will be able to take up in college.

The good news does not end here. The first class of graduates who completed their three years of college, with the exception of Bina who aspires to become a teacher after doing BEd at Christ University, Bangalore, will be taking up excellent starting jobs at Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young, Mercedez Benz, iGate and Biocon Ltd.
Today marked not just the end of high school and the beginning of another journey for Catherine and her classmates as they leave Shanti Bhavan for college, but it is a humble start on a different road. These successes only prove that the sky is the limit, and with hard work and an unrelenting pursuit, every child who dreams big can one day make them come true if given the opportunity.

Join our 15th Anniversary Celebration on May 9, 2013 at the Bowery Hotel in New York City. It will be an exciting evening with live music, a short presentation from an Oscar-winning filmmaker, and a peppering of celebs. Meet and enjoy the company of successful and yet socially conscious people like you….

Sierra Boggess who played the female leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phanton of the Opera performance recently at the Royal Albert Hall in London joins Mary-Mitchell Campbell for the musical at the Benefit event.

Shanti Bhavan’s 15th Anniversary Celebration

Honorary Hosts Padma Lakshmi and Nate Berkus

Honorary Committee Member Thomas Friedman

Live music from acclaimed music director Mary Mitchell Campbell

Plus, an exclusive sneak peek into the upcoming documentary “The Untouchables” by Academy Award Winning Filmmaker Vanessa Roth

Open bar refreshments from Stella, Beck’s Sapphire, Bulldog Gin, WhistlePig Whiskey, Santa Teresa Rum, El Buho Mezcal and more!

Guests will receive a $20 credit to use toward Uber Car Service on the night of the event! (new Uber users only)

Time turns pages, swallows days and draws the inevitable closer.

If you walk into our classroom in the morning at 6:30 a.m. or at any time of the day, you’ll be welcomed by the silent noise of the tension and nervousness in us for the exams which are nearing sooner than we like.

Having reached the peak of our high school education, our minds are focused on the ISC board exams, which is another crucial milestone in our lives. As each day races by, our anxiety and drive to work hard and perform well get us through.

These are the days when hobbies like reading story books, singing in the choir, and taking part in sports have taken a backseat.  The word ‘exams’ wakes us up early in the morning with a startle and puts us to restless sleep late at night.

Unlike before, every day seems like a week closer to our destiny. Times when we would shrug off our homework and comfort ourselves with the thought that there’s still tomorrow are long gone by for now it is minutes that count.

When things get tough, we are comforted knowing that our teachers, care-givers, volunteers and well-wishers who have stood by us all along helping us struggle through a chapter or master a complex concept in Chemistry with ease will certainly be proud.   Their cheers comfort us though we secretly know that they are just as nervous as we are.

We are putting in our best and studying hard. We now dedicate all the time to academics.  We are confident of doing amazingly well on these exams. We have only one thing to say, “I am ready to take you on, Mr. ISC Examinations!!!”

The door to numerous meaningful opportunities is just about to be opened.

The key lies within reach.

The sun beats down on the anxious faces of our soccer team as they get ready for the finals. Their significantly taller adversaries smirked, reminiscing the dejection that weighed our heads down after the soccer finals last year when we lost.

This is a tournament held every January where all the companies of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) send their most athletic employees to compete against each other. Several schools also participate in their separate tournament. The eleventh and twelfth grade girls cheerlead as the teams battled it out from morning to dusk. In the end, one victorious team will drive away with the rolling trophy, only to bring back next year and fight for it again.

It is now half time and the score is the same as it was last year. Shanti Bhavan team is behind by a goal…

The fear of losing that overcame our sweaty faces upset our coach, Gavin, who told us to get out there and play as Dr. George had coached earlier. The next half of the game proved that our secret game strategy (which will remain secret in the interest of our future matches) really worked. It took a while to regain the confidence we had lost, but two swift goals by our team ensured our victory. Shocked by the turn of events, the KVS team left the field with their heads hanging.

Just before the awards ceremony, our cheerleaders rocked the stage (literally, as the wooden stage started to sway) as they danced to Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka.’ The sun glistened our shiny medals as we faced the cameras capturing the glorious moment.

We were welcomed back at school with cheers and congratulations, and a wonderful dinner.  It was a memorable evening to celebrate.

Grade: 4^th Grade

Age: 8 years

From: Kolar Gold Fields

Family Background: Prashanth’s mother works as a tailor in a garments factory and his father is a rickshaw driver.

Overcoming Challenges: One of Prashanth’s biggest challenge is writing neatly. To overcome this shortcoming, he practices writing slowly and neatly for an hour every day.

Hobbies: Playing soccer and running are Prashanth’s favorite hobbies. He believes that his ability to run fast would help the “police catch robbers.”

Favorite SB Memory: His favorite memory is receiving presents and dancing and playing with Santa Claus during the last Christmas party.

Future Goals: Prashanth dreams of becoming an engineer who would invent machines. He has decided to save his earnings and share it with his family and Shanti Bhavan.

In My Own Words: “The thing wrong with the world is pollution. This is killing animals and we can also become extinct. Already people are dying who ate the polluted fish. To solve pollution, I’ll invent a machine which will go underwater and remove all the dirt, and I will tell everyone to recycle.”

With holidays and the New Year just around the corner, we would like to share two heartwarming stories from Shanti Bhavan and a video of a cute performance by our kids. It’s been a great year and thank you all for being a part of Shanti Bhavan! Read Sujatha’s story about Diwali, and Meena Devi’s story about her trip to XIME.

Diwali

by: Sujatha, 11^th Grade

Diwali is the festival of lights, a four-day celebration that illuminates the country with its brilliance, and dazzles all with its joy. Houses are lit and decorated with oil lamps and candles, and feasts of food are prepared for all.

In Shanti Bhavan, Diwali was celebrated on the thirteenth of November. It was a holiday, so we were allowed to wake up late and were treated to a breakfast of idli and curry. We were then allowed to do anything until one o’ clock. Some of us watched movies, while others played games or practiced music and dance. Then everyone dressed in their best clothes, and went for a nice lunch of bisibelaebath. After lunch, some of the younger kids went for naps, while the older ones prepared for the evening’s celebration and program.

The eleventh graders moved the tables in the dining hall and changed the arrangement. All of the tables were put in squares with decorations in the middle. The floor was decorated with tiles and lamps and the biggest oil lamp was placed in the middle of the dining hall. It looked beautiful.

We then had a small program in the evening. The program consisted of two small dances performed by the eighth and ninth grade girls. After the performance, everybody was taken to the dining hall for pullav and chicken curry. After dinner, children were given fireworks that made the whole school noisy and colorful. The volunteers and teachers took pictures of children having fun and the colorful fireworks.

After we had used all of the fireworks, the graduates and teachers danced in the school building as everybody else retired to their beds. The day ended with great joy and everybody went to sleep with smiles on their faces.

XIME

by: Meena Devi, 9^th Grade

XIME stands for Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship. XIME is located near Electronic City in Bangalore. XIME invited 30 8^th and 9^th grade Shanti Bhavan students to celebrate Children’s Day with them.

We reached XIME at 9:30am, and as soon as we arrived, the students greeted us. We were given half an hour to refresh ourselves after the drive and have breakfast. After we had breakfast we were split into four groups with eight members each. We had to remain in these groups for all the activities that the students had planned for the whole day. Every team had dancers, artists, and painters.

Each team had to work on a collage, some of the teams were chosen to perform dances and the painters had to do a separate painting. These activities were based on the theme “safety”. The XIME students had chosen the theme because one of the senior students passed away in a car accident on November 14^th. With this in mind, they had dedicated this day in remembrance of him and decided to teach people about safety. Everyone was busy throughout the whole day painting, learning dances and making the collage. It was really fun working in teams and getting to know different people’s ideas.

We had a lunch break in between activities. The lunch was delicious and we had to prepare our own sandwiches using different items like chips, cucumber, sandwich spread, ketchup, and mixture. It was fun learning to make our own inventions in the kitchen.

We presented all our activities for the other students in attendance. We had a great time learning about safety. We learned all about safety while traveling, safety in the water, and safety while eating. We really learned a lot. The dance performances were entertaining because it was the first time the eighth and ninth grade boys danced on stage. It was hilarious.

At the end, I was given the scholarship. We had to write an essay explaining who the role models in our lives are, and why. We had interviews towards the end of the day, and at the final stage, two eighth grade girls and myself had to take tests. I was thrilled when I heard that I was chosen for the scholarship-everyone congratulated me and I was jubilant for the rest of the day. At the end of the program, everyone danced, and some of the XIME students sang songs and danced with us.

Finally, we thanked them for the wonderful day they had put together for us. We bid them farewell and we came home at 7:30pm, just in time for dinner!

Rainbow Drive Performance

This holiday season, Shanti Bhavan students put together a performance in Bangalore full of songs, dances, and cheer. The students attending included second graders through twelfth graders, and we even had a performance by a graduate, Beena! Students sang songs in German, Tamil, and English and danced both Western and classical Indian dances. This piece is the second graders performing a holiday song to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Enjoy!

Shanti Bhavan Second Graders perform Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for the Rainbow Drive this holiday season.

Help Our Mission Succeed

These stories are only possible through your continued support. Each dollar makes a difference. Each dollar changes a child’s life. It is through donations like your own that the children of Shanti Bhavan are provided a home, clothing, medical care, food and a great education. Join us now and be part of something amazing. Donate now and help a child break the cycle of poverty.

Thank you!

An anonymous donor made a year-end contribution for the care and education of the following five children for the coming year, and pledged the same for the next five years.  While we cannot personally thank him, all of us – the staff of Shanti Bhavan – thank this kind-hearted person for his generosity.

Name: Keerthishree

Grade: 5th Grade                                     Age: 9                                    From: Bangalore

Family Background: She is the youngest among 4 children in her family. Her father was an alcoholic and he passed away 2 years back. From then on her mother is the sole bread winner of the family. She earns her living by breaking stones.

Hobbies: Keerthishree loves dancing and playing the guitar.

Future Goals: She wants to become a software engineer as she is very interested in working with computers. She also wants to help alleviate poverty to the maximum extent possible.

Inspiration: Dr. George, the founder of Shanti Bhavan, is her greatest inspiration. She loves him for his wisdom, love and humility.

Name: Naveen

Grade: 5th Grade                                     Age: 10                                 From: Bangalore

Family Background: Naveen’s mother is a construction worker who carries bricks and construction material on her head. His father is a driver and an alcoholic.  Naveen feels for his mother who his father beats every day.

Hobbies: He loves playing the piano. He plays soccer and likes to bicycle

Future Goals: He wants to become an engineer and wants to build houses for the poor.

Inspiration: His mother is his inspiration. Despite all the hardships in her life she is strong willed and her only wish is that Naveen should study well and achieve something great in his life.

 Name: Samuel

Grade: 5th Grade                                     Age: 10                                 From: Hosur

Family Background: Samuel’s mother is a housewife and his father is a priest. At home people accuse his father of borrowing money from them. Forced by the accusations, his mother eventually sold her jewelry to pay back the loans.

Hobbies: He loves playing cricket and watching movies.

Future Goals: He loves science immensely and wants to become a doctor. He wants to save people’s lives when he becomes a doctor.

Inspiration: He is inspired by the action superhero superman, because superman is strong and he can catch thieves and other bad people.

Name: Shormila

Grade: 4th Grade                                     Age: 8                                    From: Bangalore

Family Background: Her mother earns a living by cutting grass and selling it to the local people around who have cattle. Her father passed away when she was still an infant. So her mother remarried. Her stepfather is a construction worker. As far as she can remember, she has been shifting houses often, unable to pay the rent.

Hobbies: She loves reading, drawing and coloring.

Future Goals:  She loves math because it fascinates her. She wants to become a doctor when she grows up because she wants to help sick people get well soon.

Inspiration: Dr. George, the founder of Shanti Bhavan, inspires her because he gave her a great education and is like a father to her.

Name: Thanuja

Grade: 5th Grade                                     Age: 10                                 From: Bangalore

Family Background: Mother is a housewife. Father works in a rose factory, sorting roses.

Hobbies:  She has a passion for volleyball and loves running races. She enjoys playing the piano and is now learning the theme of the Harry Potter movies.

Future Goals:  She has an ambition to be a heart surgeon. The dream she has for the world is that everyone becomes united with no fights and wars.

Inspiration: Miss Beena, Shanti Bhavan’s Vice Principal, is her inspiration due to her dedication and hard work.

Dear friends,

The holidays are just around the corner, and to share in the joy and laughter of the season we have three heart-warming stories from Shanti Bhavan. Our kids have been busy studying and preparing for their exams, but they have also taken the time to celebrate special occasions and participate in unique events. Please sit back and enjoy this little treat from Shanti Bhavan.

Ghandi Jayanti – by Catherine, 12th grade

The day started with anticipation and was filled with the delight of children’s voices wishing each other a happy Gandhi Jayanti. It was a holiday and a day of remembrance, which brought smiles to the faces of students and staff alike.

Ghandhi Jayanti is celebrated in India to mark the occasion of the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the “Father of the Nation” who is commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu. He was born on October 2, 1869. It is one of the three certified National Holidays declared in India and is celebrated in all Indian states and union territories. On this day, the government offices, banks, schools and post offices remain closed so as to pay homage to the “Father of the Nation”. Mahatma Gandhi popularized the principles of truth, non-violence, and honesty in our nation and across the globe, and they are still remembered and widely used today.

As the first light took over, everyone was clothed in their best outfits. Breakfast was at nine o’clock, filling everyone’s waiting stomachs. The younger children from the toddlers to the sixth grade got to enjoy a movie in the morning, while the older students had prep time to finish their homework for the next day.

Lunch was soon served and followed by a refreshing nap. Then we were all ready to play matches of cricket, soccer, and basketball. In the evening, all the students gathered to talk about Gandhi and what he meant for India. It was a great and lively discussion and opportunity to remember and pay respect. Finally, it was time to watch movies and enjoy a special delicious dinner of fried rice and chicken that was sponsored by one of the previous volunteers, Saibhang. Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day, and ready to go to sleep and dream of next year’s Gandhi Jayanti.

International Day of the Girl Child – by Babu, 11th grade

The first ever International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated this year on October 11^th, and Shanti Bhavan was part of it! The day was celebrated with the hopes of encouraging educational opportunities to underpriveleged girls around the world. At Shanti Bhavan, we had a special three day celebration for International Day of the Girl Child, from October 9^th-11^th with Intel and our partners at She’s The First.

The students and the faculty at Shanti Bhavan all worked very hard in preparation for the big event. Lokesh and Meena Devi, from the ninth grade, were the main hosts for our visitors and guests and they did such a good job as student-ambassadors.

Intel held two special training sessions. The first was a twenty-hour entrepreneurship workshop for all the girls from the 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grades as well as a select few interested boys from the upper grades. In the workshop, we learned to create our own business plans for potential future investors. Intel also hosted a training session for Shanti Bhavan’s science teachers focusing on hands on, inquiry-based learning. The workshop inspired so many new ideas and techniques for our teachers to take into the classroom.

Additionally, five girls from the senior classes worked on seemingly unsolvable problems facing girls’ education that they presented at a summit hosted by She’s The First in New York City on the 11^th of October. Those ideas will eventually be sent to the United Nations! The girls debated and discussed the worldwide and regional problems that most female students and women face. After much work and brainstorming our girls sent their solutions to She’s The First via Skype and email. It was very exciting to be part of such a special project.

Even our choir had a chance to do something new. They worked on an original song that was presented on the day of the celebrations. The song was used as background music for the video broadcasted by Intel after the event.  Watch the Choir celebrate International Day of the Girl Child.

The whole school was abuzz with activity and excitement for the day. It was another small step in creating awareness for girls’ education and what they can accomplish if only given the chance. We were part of something special and we all knew it.

Halloween – by Lizzy Rainer, OSA

Halloween isn’t usually celebrated in India, but we decided to do something special for Shanti Bhavan. On Sunday, the students and the graduates who are at Shanti Bhavan during their break from college went trick-or-treating on campus. They made three stops–the volunteer quarters, the teacher’s quarters, and the guest house where one of our volunteers who comes every year is staying.

The students got themselves decked out in their Halloween finest, and came to collect candy. At the teacher’s quarters, the children collected cookies and chocolates, as they went door to door trick-or-treating. From there, they went on to the guest house, and were met with more cookies and spooky stories. Finally, they came to the volunteer’s quarters, which had been turned into a haunted house. Only after braving the eerie halls and the darkened corridors were they rewarded with candy. After lots of screaming, they headed outside to have some photos taken and do a bit more screaming and scare each other as much as they could. It was a perfect Halloween, even if it did fall on November 4th!

Help Our Mission Succeed

These stories are only possible through your continued support. Each dollar makes a difference. Each dollar changes a child’s life. It is through donations like your own that the children of Shanti Bhavan are provided a home, clothing, medical care, food and a great education. Join us now and be part of something amazing. Donate now and help a child break the cycle of poverty.

Thank you!

Grade: 5^th Grade

Age: 9

From: Bagalore

Family Background: Sowndhariya’s mom works at a juice factory and her father works at a rice factory. She has one sister who is in 10^th grade.

Overcoming Challenges: When Sowndhariya first came to Shanti Bhavan, she only spoke Kannada, not English. The Shanti Bhavan teachers taught in English, and Sowndhariya struggled to understand what was being taught in class. She studied hard and took a liking for English. Now, Sowndhariya’s English is great!

Hobbies: Sowndhariya’s favorite hobbies are playing hide and seek and basketball and watching movies. Her favorite movie is the new film Brave.

Favorite SB Memory: There was a volunteer she liked who came back to Shanti Bhavan after being gone for some time. Sowndhariya remembers laying in her bed in the dorm after story time one evening and this volunteer was talking about how much she had changed and become a smart person. Hearing that made Sowndhariya very proud and it helped her to realize that she could be a very good person.

Future Goals: Sowndhariya would like to be a doctor because her father has pain sometimes and she would like to be able to cure him.

Last month Shanti Bhavan celebrated its third graduating class. We couldn’t be prouder of our children, now young adults, as they head out into the world to attend top universities in India. With your help, we can continue to give a unique opportunity to these children, unlike anywhere else in the world.

The school enjoyed two full nights of performances leading up to the ceremony. We laughed along with the volunteers as they put on a dance and a comedy skit, applauded the teachers after their rendition of Thirupaachi , and sat in awe of Kumar as he played an original piano composition. Through performances from the children, teachers and volunteers alike, the weekend was full of laughter, joy and school spirit.

Please sit back and enjoy as we take you through the sights and sounds of graduation weekend.

“I had so many emotions for the weekend, but mostly I was grateful for all the wonderful memories that my family at Shanti Bhavan had given me. “ – Jancy Vincent

“The song that we, the graduating class, sang was ‘Hold onto the Memories’. We added a third verse thanking Shanti Bhavan. As soon as the words came out I started crying. I realized how much love I have for Shanti Bhavan.” – Saridha Venkataraman

One of our graduates, Kumar, played a piece on the piano that he wrote himself.

Click here to watch Kumar Playing The Piano

The children watch attentively as their classmates perform

Radha Kaise Na Jale, performed by the 8th & 9th grade girls

Click here to watch the beautiful performance of Radha Kaise Na Jale

“My former classmate, Amrutha and I performed a dance as part of the graduation celebration. Initially I was very nervous about performing a dance on stage as it has been years since I last did. The fear of being awkward had kept me away from participating but this time I decided to perform.” – Shilpa A

6th and 7th grade girls performing “Hamma Hamma”

Click here to watch the Graduates Getting their Diplomas

Class of 2012, Year 2012

Class of 2012, Year 1998

From backgrounds of poverty and discrimination our graduating class has gone on to attend India’s top universities. Your support makes it possible to continue to give these wonderful children the chance to shine as brightly as they were meant to.

As a little boy I recall running after my younger brother over cement and granite piles at construction sites. My mother closely watched us as she stirred cement in bins and carried loads of bricks on her head. “Keshavan, be careful,” she would shout every time she caught us playing in dangerous conditions that often accompanied construction.

Though life was hard for the family, my mother was assured by the fact that in a few years my brother and I too would join her and bring in income.

But today I am not a laborer building other people’s homes but constructing my own future. I got an opportunity to join Shanti Bhavan School where my childhood was spent playing with toys, competing in soccer, eating tasty meals, and learning from teachers. I now dream of a good future that I am determined to realize.

During vacations from school I would return to my village. To fight boredom I would join my parents at the construction site. After a day of hard work we would return home, eagerly waiting for a dinner of ragi and curry. Seeing the difficulties faced by my parents, I am motivated to make the most of my time at school.

Throughout my early school days, I kept to myself most of the time and didn’t mix much with my classmates. I was encouraged to participate in school activities, and soon developed my confidence and communication skills with the help of people around me. I also learned many virtues such as kindness, honesty, courage, and loyalty.

Ever since completing my 10^th grade, I have been pursuing business studies.  I find finance and law enormously fascinating subjects. I am thrilled to learn about successful businessmen, and to learn about justice. Having come from a deprived family, I consider social justice to be very important to the nation.

I recently passed my 12^th grade national exams and am seeking admissions in law or business. While my parents are elated and boast about me to neighbors, I know that it is just the beginning and I need to work hard to succeed professionally. I am determined to achieve what I have set out to do – make a good future for myself, my family and all those whom I can help.

I was eleven years old when one day the housemother for my dorm at Shanti Bhavan Residential School approached me with a serious and sad look on her face. Her words were soft and pained, and her tone was unsure. I braced myself for what she was going to say. My father whom I loved so dearly was killed in an accident at a quarry where he worked. A large boulder hit him on his chest, crushing him in a blast.

In the months and years that followed, the circumstances of his death were narrated vividly and frequently by many in the family that I began to think I had witnessed the accident. Memories of my treasured moments with him seemed to blast away from me, just like the rocks that killed him. I can still hear my mother’s anguished wails and see her falling across his body.

For many months, unable to forget the empty space in me my father once filled, I remained in deep sorrow. Before long, I was put on academic probation because of my lack of interest in school.

It was during this period that the realization of my predicament struck me – the worsening financial situation at home, and the many new burdens my mother had to carry to look after her children. It was the beginning of an accelerated maturation process for me to take my life seriously. In a strange way, I found renewed strength from my personal tragedy, motivating me to put all my energies into my studies of science. Soon, my scores in examinations began to improve.

Math and science, once my weakest subjects, became more interesting and easy. I began to think of medicine as my career in the future. I knew that I had a long way to go, but was determined to pursue my dream of becoming a cardiologist one day. I was motivated by a desire to help those who are helpless.

I was born in a remote village called Begili in Tamil Nadu. My family and many others in the village worked in a quarry, and lived in huts around its border. During the day everyone worked in the hot sun breaking rocks with hammers and at night the sound of boulders being blasted kept us awake. My family’s livelihood stemmed from those rocks; those rocks that gave life and took life. Many like my father had succumbed to their injuries in perilous accidents. My family thought I would join work with them — a simple ignorant quarry woman worker.

But at the age of four I got selected to study in a school called Shanti Bhavan for children from underprivileged backgrounds. While my parents continued to work at the quarry, I moved on from learning alphabets to numbers, math calculations to chemistry derivations. Unlike them, I was not breaking but building their hopes and mine.

At school I enjoyed reading, listening to music, watching my peers perform dances on stage, spending time with my friends and tutoring my juniors in biology. Life became an everyday surprise. Meeting volunteers from around the world and taking part in many school activities have always interested me. Very soon I began to aspire for studying at one of the best colleges in America and elsewhere abroad.

Today I walk the halls of Shanti Bhavan with grace that I could have obtained only through my determination and the encouragement and support that everyone has given me. The values that I have learned at Shanti Bhavan like honesty, integrity, love and humility will always be the guiding principles for my actions and decisions. I have understood the importance of being humble and kind. When I return home during vacations, I am mentally prepared to face many hardships such as no running water, no toilets and little food.

I feel blessed to have grown up at Shanti Bhavan. By not allowing me to dwell only on my father’s death made me strong and persevering. This ‘Haven of Peace’ has inspired in me a yearning to make a difference in the lives of others.

As I journey through life, I uphold the values of dedication, steadfastness and perseverance close to my heart and dream of achieving success through education.

~~Maheswari