A Mother's Dream

When my husband passed away in 2004, my world fell apart. I was alone, with no one at home, and I had to learn how to be strong for my children. The days were long and the work was hard. I took any small job I could find — temporary, low-paying — just to keep us going. But through all the struggle, I held onto one belief: education would be their way out. It was the only path to a better life, a life with opportunities I never had.

Before all of this, I had heard about a new school in our neighborhood. We didn't know much about it, just that it was different. We called it 'Sahaj' at first. We saw children going there and learning, and it felt special. We had to pay so much to send our children to other schools, but here, the education was free. That's why we gave it a special name. It was a place of hope.

My son, Om, was smart from the beginning. He never once said he wasn't capable of doing something. The teachers and the principal at Akanksha saw that in him, too. They supported him, they encouraged him, they pushed him to keep trying. It was more than just books and numbers. At Akanksha, they didn't just teach letters and numbers. They taught him how to be confident, how to hold himself, how to dream. They were teaching him how to live well.

I remember the day we found out he got a full scholarship to UWC Mahindra College. I was overwhelmed. There was pride, of course, but also disbelief. How could this be? My son, from our small neighborhood, was going to an international college. It was beyond anything I had ever expected. I pulled him aside and told him, 'Even if you leave home, don't give up. Take our family out of the slum.' It was a heavy thing to put on his shoulders, but it was the truth of our dream.

And then, he went even further. He got into St. Olaf's College, in America. The distance is hard. It's a pain that sits in your heart. But the promise of a better life for our family, the future he is building, that's what keeps me going. We talk every day. Sometimes it's just for a few minutes on the phone, sometimes we write letters. It takes money and effort, but hearing his voice, seeing him grow and change, it's worth every single sacrifice.

Akanksha didn't just change my son; it changed our whole family's future. My daughter, Shrutika, is now studying education. She wants to become a teacher, and she hopes to teach at Akanksha one day. It feels like we are giving back to the place that gave us our first real sense of hope. It's a circle.

My dream now is simple. It's not grand or complicated. I just want a house of our own. A safe place where our family can be together, where we can grow and thrive without fear. We don't need a mansion, just a home filled with hope and love.