The Code That Connects

I grew up in a small village in Maharashtra where life was a constant struggle because my parents were farmers with little education. But my mother had this fire in her and she truly believed that education was the only way out for us. I still remember her telling us, "This is not the future I want for you." In 1972, we went through a terrible drought and our family barely made it through. When I was just five years old, she packed us up and moved us to Pune with nothing more than hope and a whole lot of courage.

Then, when I was nine, she made another bold choice and sent me to Mumbai to live with another family, where I both worked and went to school. To get to the municipal school, I had to walk for miles every single day, and I felt a huge weight on my shoulders from the pressure to learn and the constant worry about what would happen next. I had this dream of becoming a doctor so I could serve my community, but I missed getting admitted by just a few marks. Life ended up taking me down a different path toward the environment, and it was through that work that I discovered my love for education.

While I was working in the forests tracking animals, I realized that I was passionate about talking to people and teaching them. That passion eventually took me all the way from India to the United States, where I worked in environmental education. I found myself helping teachers at the Boston Aquarium and I even taught seventh grade students in a classroom. But all along, I felt this strong pull to come back home and help kids who reminded me of myself.

That is how I eventually found the Akanksha Foundation, which for me is not just a job or an organization, but a place that feels like home. When I walk into the office, it feels the same as walking into my own house because the people, the children, and the families all feel like my own family. These past fifteen years here have given me a sense of hope, confidence, and a kind of grounding that I never had before.

Integrity is at the heart of everything I do, and I always tell my team and students, "Integrity is not just about words, it is about actions." For me, that means what you say has to match what you do. I live by this principle, and I expect the same from anyone who works with me. When I say to act with integrity, I mean that you should be honest, show up fully, and keep your promises even when no one is watching.

I explain to my students and teams that this does not mean you have to be perfect. It means being honest about your mistakes and working each day to be better. If you say you will do something, you do it, and if you cannot, you tell the truth about why. Integrity is what builds trust, and trust is the foundation for everything we do together.

In the classroom, I often say to my children, "It is okay to make mistakes. But when you do, you should think about why it happened, be honest about it, and work harder next time." That cycle of reflection and honesty is what builds real strength and character.

People sometimes ask me if I feel overwhelmed by trying to change an entire system, and I always say that I do not. I am an eternal optimist, and I believe that every problem has a solution, even if we have not found it yet. When difficulties come up, I just tell myself, "Here is a new puzzle to figure out. How can I and my team solve this?"

I know that change can be slow and painful, but I truly believe that if it does not happen today, then it will happen tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after. Change will come.

If I could talk to my younger self now, I would tell her to believe in herself, to work hard, to listen closely to others, and to trust that the people around her want the best for her. Those words have been my guiding light and are the values that carry me through every single day.

To me, integrity is like the code that connects all the other values we hold, like working together, working hard, and being your best. Without integrity, none of those other things really matter.

Every day, I see why this work is so important. When a child feels proud of who they are and makes choices that truly belong to them, that moment of empowerment spreads far beyond the school walls. It changes families and communities, and I believe it can even change the whole world.

That is the Akanksha way, and that is why we work so deeply and patiently. We do it because every child, no matter where they come from, deserves to be seen, to be heard, and to be given power, all built on a foundation of integrity.