My father is so happy when he sees me talking in English just like the people he works for. He does not understand the language, but loves to hear me use it”, says Shalu, a 17 year old living at a slum cluster in South Delhi.

A temporary driver struggling for the survival of his family of six, Shalu’s father never thought of enrolling her in school. But only one meeting with Mission Education project coordinators was enough to convince him that education could be his daughter’s way out from the life of poverty and drudgery.

Shalu studied at the Mission Education centre for 10 years and because of her hard work and diligence was successfully mainstreamed to a prestigious private school in Delhi. She was also awarded a scholarship under Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme to complete her education free of cost.

-Shalu