Keep Girls in School & End Child Marriage in Pune

In a small settlement in Pune district lives the Dombari community, one of India's Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT). For generations, Dombari families have earned a living selling handmade toys on the streets or helping out at weddings and local events — skilled work, but unstable, leaving little room to dream beyond the next day.

Education was never part of that picture. Most adults in the community had never attended school themselves, and expected their children to follow the same path of traditional work, struggle and survival — a cycle that seemed impossible to break.

Change began when our partner Nirman arrived in the community with a simple mission: to show families that education is a right, a tool, and a route to dignity. Through home visits, awareness campaigns and conversations about constitutional rights, parents slowly began to see possibilities they'd never considered before.

Out of that effort came Savitrichi Shala (Savitribai's School), named for the pioneering educator and social reformer Savitribai Phule — a place where Dombari children learned not just academics, but confidence, communication and essential life skills. Monthly parent meetings built trust between families and the school, helping parents understand the process and keeping children in class.

Among the first to break with tradition was Vijay, a quiet, determined boy who believed there might be more to life than selling toys. With steady support from Nirman, he completed his 10th grade in 2023 — a milestone no one in his family or neighbourhood had achieved before him. Today, he's studying for his 12th standard, and has become something of a role model for younger children who once feared school themselves.

More children soon followed. Forty-five children from the Dombari community are now studying regularly, including Suresh, who dreams of becoming a skilled electrician and is preparing for training at an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) — an ambition that would once have seemed entirely out of reach for this community.

What's happening in this settlement goes beyond academic progress; it's a shift in what parents believe is possible for their children. Where they once expected their sons and daughters to inherit the same struggles they lived through, they're now speaking, with real pride, about careers, college and stable futures.

Thank you for helping make transformations like this possible.