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BoyaIndu is a class V Nanhi Kali from UPS Mellacheruvu of GadwalMandal, Mahabubnagar. Her parents are daily wage laborers. She has an older brother, who is currently studying in class X.

When Indu, was a year and half old, she was diagnosed with polio, even though she was given all polio dosages. After treatment in Hyderabad, she was provided artificial shoes to help her walk.

Her parents are keen that she gets proper education and Nanhi Kali is providing Indu with all the support she needs to excel. Indu is regular to school and she scores well academically. She is the group leader in her class. and has shown active participation to do justice to her role.

V Kokila is a class VIII Nanhi Kali studying in the ADW Higher Secondary School in Virugambakkam, Chennai. Her father passed away due to an illness and shortly after, her mother committed suicide. She lives with her aunt and uncle who takes care of her and sends her to school. Her uncle is a laborer.

V Kokila works hard in school so as to excel in her academics. Although she is fond of singing, she also takes part in drama and sports activities in school and the Academic Support Centre. Shea aspires to be a teacher.

Arina Khan, an effervescent Nanhi Kaliof Marvali Urdu School in Chembur East, Mumbai studies in IVth standard. He father runs a tea stall and her mother is a housewife. She has 2 siblings, an elder sister who is married and an elder brother who currently works in a grocery store.

Arina excels in everything she takes up. Apart from studies she has interest in drawing and sports. She regularly attends school and NK class.

Arina is a leader of attendance committee as her attendance in school and in ASC is the highest. And she plans to become a language teacher. Apart from academics, the NK program is providing her support for her to excel in other extra curricular activities.

Nagaveni is class IV Nanhi Kali from Mahabubnagar. She lives with her mother who is a daily wage labourer, younger sister and grandmother in the Maldakal village. Nagaveni used to earlier live with her family in Bangalore where her father worked as a migrant labor. Post his death she moved to her mother’s hometown. Nagaveni’s mother is the sole breadwinner of the family. Despite her struggle to support her family, she never gave up on her children’s education.

Nagaveni is a keen and attentive learner and has managed to attain 92% attendance at school and 80% at the ASC and performed impressively in her annual examinations. Her mother expresses her heartfelt gratitude to project Nanhi Kali for all the support.

Saloni is an active Nanhi Kali studying in class 5 in GPS Sihi, Gurgaon. She lives with her parents and 4 siblings. Her father works in a factory and her mother takes up odd jobs to make the ends meet. She helps her mother in household chores as well.

She has been securing 3rd rank in her class consistently. She was keen to go for private tuitions, but her parents were not able to bear the extra cost. She became a Nanhi Kali and started going to the Academic Support Centre regularly. With this she has further shown improvement academically. She ranked first in the cluster of 12 schools and she gives its credit to Nanhi Kali.

Sravani, is a class IV Nanhi Kali from GPS New Moosaram Bagh in Saidabad, Hyderabad. She stays with her parents and two siblings. Sravani’s family earns Rs. 300 per day which is hardly sufficient to meet the household requirements. Despite these challenges, her parents wish to provide quality education to all their children. Project Nanhi Kali has therefore, been a blessing in disguise as it provides academic as well as material support. Post her enrolment in Nanhi Kali project; she has become more friendly and active in class. She has also developed an interest in extracurricular activities.

Sravani is a regular to school and has an excellent academic record. She has also won 3 medals for dance.

Santra Maida is a class VI Nanhi Kali from GMS Tamboliya, Ratlam. Her family’s main source of income comes from agriculture. In addition to this, her parents also seasonally migrate to find daily wage earning jobs. As a result of this, it was common for Santra to miss classes and her attendance showed high irregularity. Due to lack of sufficient exposure, her parents were also not keen on ensuring that she got proper education.

However, through project Nanhi Kali, the team was able to explain the benefits and relevance of educating their daughter. Santra has now become a regular to school and she has also succeeded in bringing more girls into the project. The project has helped Santra in developing an interest towards education.

Ujala Vishwakarma is spirited young Nanhi Kali studying in Class 5 in Dindaspur, Varanasi. She has her mother and three brothers. Her father passed away couple of years ago. Soon after that, her brothers dropped out of school in order to earn a livelihood. Her mother works in the Primary School Dindaspur as a cook for the Mid day meal and earns a salary of Rs 1000 per month.

Despite all this, Ujala is quite a sincere and regular student in the school and Academic Support Centre. There is considerable improvement in her academic performance after she became a Nanhi Kali. She says Nanhi Kali has given her the opportunity to improve academically wthout paying.

Ishrat is a class VI Nanhi Kali studying at the Government Senior Secondary School in Libaspur, Delhi and lives in Bhalaswa JJ- 2 along with her parents and five siblings. Her father works as a vegetable vendor.

Earlier, Ishrat used to help her father, who was engaged in rag-picking back then. Ishrat was made part of Project Nanhi Kali and her Community Activist noticed her irregularity and lack of interest. The team convinced her family to ensure she attends class.

Ishrat won 2nd Prize in the Drawing Competition conducted at the district level in her school. Her parents are now keen on ensuring that Ishrat is provided with all the opportunities she deserves to gain a quality education.

Dhapi Khushwah, resides in Govardha in Madhya Pradesh where many young girls are forced to drop out of school because of socio-economic factors like gender discrimination, child marriage and migration. But it is her determination to study that has kept her going strong. She recently cleared Std. 6 with 88%.

Dhapi’s father is a vegetable vendor and her mother also helps him. With an annual income of Rs. 75,000 approximately they struggle to meet the basic needs of the family including the education of Dhapi and her two sisters. Despite all of this they support Dhapi.

Dhapi became a Nanhi Kali in class 2. Till date, she has received approximately 3210 hours of extra academic support.

Utkarsha is a Nanhi Kali of class III from the Government Primary School Tinhewadi, Chakan. She is the only child and resides in Tinhewadi in Pune District.

Utkarsha’s parents are specially challenged. Due to this, she was always hesitant to talk about them to her friends. The adverse effects of this could be noticed in her academic performance. The Community Activist and Nanhi Kali Coordinator noticed this and provided counseling sessions so that she would accept and respect her parents.

These sessions helped her in communicating more openly about her problems and accept her parents the way they are. Her academic performance has improved and she also takes active part in extra-curricular activities organised at the Academic Support Centre.

Kavitha is a Nanhi Kali who studies in IVth Standard in PUM Varaganapalli Middle School in Kelamangalam mandal. Her father is a construction worker. She has two brothers and one sister.

Kavita has a skin allergy throughout her body due to which in school she was gradually minimizing her interactions and reluctant to participate in activities. The Nanhi Kali team provided her with academic support and encouraged her to be regular in school. Nanhi Kali tutor Mrs. Kasturi took special effort in instilling confidence in her by giving moral support as well as special attention to her. There was a marked improvement in her listening, reading and writing skills. The program has given her tremendous academic and moral boost.

Neha Halder, a young and energetic Nanhi Kali studies in class 3 of Adi Mahakali Pathshala in Kolkata. Her father Ashis Halder is an unskilled labourer who works as a daily wage worker while her mother Pampa Halder takes care of the family.

After getting enrolled in the Project Nanhi Kali, the Community Associate played a very important role in improving her academic results. Project Nanhi Kali plays an important role in the life of Neha. She has shown a remarkable progress and she enjoys going to Academic Support Centre

This is the story of Nanhi Kali Ruby from Chennai. She studies in VIII standard Ruby’s father works as a Coolie. Ruby has battled the problem of mental illness from a very young age and this has caused reading disability. Ruby however has not let these challenges come in the way of her exuberant spirit.

The academic support center in her school was started by the Nanhi Kali team and Ruby has been regularly attending the same. The constant care and attention from Nanhi Kali has helped improve Ruby’s discipline of sitting in the class room as well as her listening, reading and writing skills. Her mother is particularly thankful for Nanhi Kali’s intervention that has helped Ruby lead a normal childhood.

Mehek is a Nanhi Kali of Class 6 studying at Junior High School. Her father works as a tailor. The family lived in a rented house in Bahlolpur.

After enrolling for Nanhi Kali, Mehek showed improvement in academics. Later, her family moved to Char Murthi which was 6 kms away from the school. Mehek’s father decided to stop sending her to the ASC. Her Community Associate, Sandhya immediately visited Mehek’s parents and convinced her father to send her to school along with her elder brother.

Meanwhile, her brother cleared Class 8 and joined a different school, which made it difficult for him to drop Mehek to school. Again, the Nanhi Kali team intervened and convinced her father to let her join a school near Hoshiarpur.

Amruta lives in Mumbai with her parents, sister and two brothers. Her parents are uneducated and her father earns a daily wage by doing odd jobs for a carpenter. Amruta’s parents sent her to the Government school in Mankurd and she became a Nanhi Kali when she was in Standard 4. Amruta was introduced to wrestling when she saw 2 girls wrestle, but her sports teacher discouraged her since she was underweight.

This is when Coach Babasaheb Shinde walked into her life and gave her the guidance and training. While wrestling does take up most of her time, Nanhi Kali Community Associates help Amruta cope with her studies. She is also preparing for the National Level Wrestling Championship this year.

A Nirmala hails from a poor family living in Thally district, where her father is a coolie with meagre income. Nirmala studies in the 5th standard in PUMS also known as Dinnur school. Apart from low income, Nirmala also has a disadvantage of being physically challenged since birth. With all the physical and financial strains, Nirmala lacked focus and the ability to study in spite of her willingness and zeal. Nirmala has been roped in as a Nanhi Kali student and was provided all the additional support the child needed through the academic support centres. Her tutor Mrs. Vasantha, mentored her giving her constant care and attention that has not only given her a direction, but also motivated Nirmala to be more disciplined with her school attendance.

Nirmala’s mother today is very proud seeing her daughter’s progress and has considered Nanhi Kali intervention to be a boon in her life.

Kalpana Salam is a Nanhi Kali of village Kanhanpuri of Narharpur block. Hailing from a tribal village, Kalpana’s family has very poor income. Both her parents are daily wage workers and she two siblings, with her being the eldest. Kalpana has been a Nanhi Kali since 2011-12, but since then was not very good with her academic performance. Ever since, she was roped into Nanhi Kali, Kalpana showed remarkable improvement in various facets of her personality.

Nanhi Kali also encouraged her to be physically stronger and with constant practice she represented her school at cluster level annual sports meet where she stood first in 100 meters race. This achievement has only boosted her confidence levels and today she aspires to participate in district level competitions. With Nanhi Kali, Kalpana has not only improved her academic performance but has realised her potential in sports. Her teaches have been encouraging and pray for a bright future for the girl.

Kasturi is a Nanhi kali pursuing her 10th standard studies from Zilla Parishad Government school, Mahbubnagar. She hails from a family of 5 with her father running a barber shop and her mother working as a daily wage labourer. Kasturi has been a Nanhi Kali student ever since her 5th standard. In spite of being a helping hand to her mother at home, Kasturi stays motivated to pursue her studies and to participate in various cultural activities in school.

With constant support and encouragement received at the Nanhi Kali academic support centre, Kasturi participated and stood first in Mandal level and District level ‘Chekumuki Science Celebrations’ which was jointly conducted by Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Jana Vignana Vedika in the year 2014. This was Kasturi’s moment of glory and pride where she felt herself equal to children from various private and government schools.

T. Nagalakshmi is a 3rd standard girl who comes from low income household. Apart from economic challenges, Nagalakshmi is also physically challenged, as both her right hand and leg have certain birth defects. With all of these pressures, the little girl was low on confidence and self esteem, that eventually affected her willingness to learn and her attention levels in class. She was taken in by the Nanhi Kali programme and provided all the additional support she needed through the academic support centre. Under the mentorship of the Nanhi Kali tutor Mrs. Deepa, Nagalakshmi found the right encouragement and support that the little girl yearned for.

With Nanhi Kali’s support and dedicated efforts, Nagalakshmi transformed in a very short span of time from a shy and unfocussed girl, into a disciplined and a motivated student. Apart from her willingness to learn, there is also a remarkable difference in her social behaviour as well as reading and writing skills.

A nanhi kali hailing from Tadoor, Mahabubnagar; T. Jyoti has an inspiring story that highlights her passion for learning. Coming from a family with meagre income, Jyoti started learning without a formal school enrollment by attending classes along with her brother. Her fire for learning was realised by the headmaster of the school where her brother studied. Understanding her financial situation, the headmaster approached the NanhiKali community; who helped realise the child’s dream and entitled her to her right to be educated.

Jyoti, made everyone involved in her journey to learn proud, by standing first in a competition called ‘Meelo Evaru Prathibhavanthulu’ organized by The Vandemataram Foundation. Standing first, amongst 100 participants from Government and private schools; Jyoti won a cash prize of Rs.5000/- and an opportunity to take an aerial view of Hyderabad city in a flight with her parents. Jyoti dreams of becoming a doctor one day only to provide free treatment for those who can’t afford it.

Nandini & Arathi are little girls seeking education in Bangalore and hailing from Nepal. Their inability to converse in kannada and their poor family background were both major drawbacks for them to complete their studies in the city. Team Nanhi Kali identified in the spark in the girls to study and put in all their efforts to improve lives for these little girls. Nanhi Kali activist Shardha, first helped the girls to overcome the language barrier by teaching them Hindi and Kannada and then helped the girls get extra coaching through academic support centres.

Both Nandini and Arathi scored high marks in their endline assessment tests thanks to all the coaching and support that was provided to the girls at the Nanhi Kali academic support centres.

Little Reena Vadhera from Sagpura Government High School; had a dream to study and to follow her passion for her favourite game Tennikoit. Losing her mother at a young age, left Reena with a number of household responsibilities. Nanhi Kali identified the spark in her and pursued her to practice the game as well as study further alongside convincing her father about her importance of playing the game. Reena dedicatedly wakes up at 4am every day to complete her household chores and dedicate her remaining time to studies and her game practice. She was selected in the district level Tennikoit team, and also helped her team to see victory with her determination and focus.