By Mansi Chaturvedi Sharma | Resource Mobilisation Coordinator
Dilruba joined Kilkari Rainbow Home in Delhi in 2008 when she was around 8 years old. She hails from West Bengal and like millions of other Indian families hers too migrated to Delhi in search for a dependable and consistent means of livelihood. With no friends or family members to tether them to the city, Dilruba's family set up a small shanty in slums offsetting the New Delhi Railway Station, and started to earn their first wages through ragpicking.
Irrespective of her young age at the time, and like most other children in her new neighbourhood, Dilruba also participated in the family’s new profession to contribute as best as possible to their joint, meagre income. While on the street, she met with representatives of an NGO that provided street-based, non-formal education services. These good Samaritans referred Dilruba to Kilkari Home, encouraging their parents to let her participate in the Rainbow Home program for proper security, education and nurturing.
Initially, only Dilruba joined the home; however, after her father’s death her younger sister also joined us at Kilkari. Dilruba’s mother is now working as a sanitation worker at Central Park and is able to earn an income off the street.
Dilruba is a strong example of hard work and diligence. She is a highly participative child that already exhibits strong leadership skills. Now 16 years old, she is currently in Class 11th at Daisy Dales School in Greater Kailash-I, where she receives an education free of cost based on merit and need. She is interested in becoming a doctor, and the home team is working on charting out a career and training plan for her, in keeping with this dream and owing to her solid academic record.
By Rishabh Lalani | Head - Resource Mobilisation
By Rishabh Lalani | Manager - Resource Mobilisation
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.
