By Shweta Tara | Krantikari & Staff
Dear Kranti Friends & Family,
Warm greetings from Kranti! My name is Shweta, and I am writing to you not only as the Education Director of Kranti but also as someone who was once a student here. I wanted to share a small update from our school and also my personal gratitude for the role you play in making this work possible.
This month has been an emotional one. We just returned from our annual three-week break—the only time in the year when staff and students get to pause. Everyone was excited to visit family, to rest, and to recharge. But when the girls came back, what we heard broke our hearts.
Many of our students returned with stories of violence—physical, sexual, and emotional. Too many came back saying they never want to go home again. It is hard to describe what it feels like to see a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old look at you and say: “I feel safer at Kranti than with my family.” This is not something any child should ever have to say. And yet, at the same time, we feel grateful—because at least they do have Kranti, a home and school where they are truly safe, loved, and free.
As a teacher, these moments remind me of the urgency and importance of the work we do every day. At Kranti School, we don’t just teach math and English. We teach our students that their lives matter. We remind them they have voices worth hearing. We help them imagine futures beyond survival.
I often think about how different my own life would have been without Kranti. I was born and raised in India’s red-light area, where my options were very limited. I joined Kranti as a student when I was 16. For the first time in my life, I felt safe enough to dream. For the first time, I believed I was capable of being more than what society told me I could be.
Today, I stand in the very same classroom where I once sat as a student. I get to guide a new generation of Krantikaris through their own journeys of learning and healing. There are days when I cannot believe how life has come full circle—that a girl from my background is now an educator, teaching her own community.
I want to tell you something very honestly: I had other options in life. I could have chosen a different career path. I could have gone far away from this work. But deep down, I know this is the best thing I could ever do with my life. There is no greater privilege than standing beside these girls as they discover their strength, their courage, and their dreams.
Every single day I am grateful for the chance to do this work—and I am equally grateful to you for making it possible. Without your support, we would not have a home, a school, or the resources to offer the girls safety, therapy, and education. Without you, my own journey might have ended very differently.
On behalf of all the Krantikaris, thank you for believing in us. Thank you for helping us build not just a school, but a family. We will never forget that everything we do—the laughter, the learning, the healing—is possible because people like you chose to care.
With love and gratitude,
ShwetaTara
P.S. If you are interested in more regular updates, we have started a substack to share with you updates on Kranti school as well as deeper stories from the krantikaris. Please subscribe to the link mentioned below.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
