Asha came to live in Delhi as a newly-wed bride twelve years ago. Hailing from a small village in UP she had stars in her eyes about city life . Being  the first girl in her family to complete class 12th, she had hopes that her education would help her find opportunity and financial security in the new city. “socha tha bade shehar me acchi naurki milegi to hum bhi apne liye ek acchi zindagi bne payenge”. But harsh realities of a big city hit her hard and she struggled to find a decent job to help support her family. Undeterred by the difficulties faced Asha decided to learn new skills to help her find employment. She joined the skill training  program of Amba Foundation  three years back and  became a member of the Self Help Savings Group. Today she is  part of the AmbaUjjwal production team and is ready to sell her craft online. She wants to educate her ten year old son well and hopes to establish her own business one day.

Ten year old Archana a student of Amba Foundation’s non formal education program dreams of completing her education and becoming a teacher one day. However the harsh realities of  life often forces her to  face new challenges  daily.  Archana lives in a  jugghi bastis in east delhi   with her parents and four siblings. Her father is an  auto driver and mother works as  a house maid in nearby societies. The pandemic and frequent lockdowns  affected the family income adversely and her father has been unable to cover the family expenses and  is also unable to  get treatment for his chronic liver illness. The pandemic caused school closure  causing a severe disruption in the learning of Archana and her siblings. The family did not have an android phone and could not afford to get one, so Archana  was unable to attend online classes from her school and from the Foundation. When Amba Foundation came to know of her situation it arranged a pre-owned tablet for her along with a monthly recharge data pack to help her resume her online learning. Archana was thrilled to get the tablet and is now able to attend her classes regularly.

Twelve year old Radhika packs in quite a punch in her small frame. It has been a journey of grit and survival for her since birth. Abandoned at birth by her father her mother struggled with ill health and trauma along with the burden of caring for her little infant. Amba Foundation then supported her mother with legal counselling and critical financial and health support to overcome her crises. When Radhika was older Amba enrolled her under its non-formal education program and supported her learning and education. Being a bright student the organization provided her with a tablet and monthly data re charge packs to help her continue online learning. Little Radhika is today a confident and bubbly child and dreams of being a well-known tik-tok star one day !

Forty year old Rekha spent her growing years in a village near Mathura. After her marriage she migrated to Delhi with her husband in search for a better life. Her husband found employment as a driver and since then she has been living in a juggi basti with her husband and three children. The family’s growing needs made her step out in search of employment, but lack of suitable qualifications made her face repeated rejection.But patience resilience and hard work always pays off. Rekha decided to learn new skills to help her become financially independent. She joined Amba Foundation and became  a member of the Women’s Self Help Savings Group. A natural leader with good communication skills she soon became the Group’s Secretary and today manages all its book-keeping and banking work. She is a part time insurance agent and is an active member of the product making team of AmbaUjjwal.

Eighteen year old Fareen along with her elder sister and mother often visited Amba Foundation to attend various Awareness and training workshops aimed at enhancing different vocational and life skills . Noticing her talent for the fine arts and her interest in painting she was trained in Gond Art painting and is today ready to sell her craft online to support her family.”mujhe painting banana bahut aacha lagda hai soocha nahi tha ki issa paise kama sakogi” said a shy and reticent Fareen. She is very happy today to contribute to the family income.

Twenty six year old Taruna `is a self-taught clothier. After completing her 12^th class she enrolled for an  undergraduate course through distant learning. On the side she would stitch clothes for her neighbours to pay for her college expenses. Last year during the lock-down she joined a virtual cloth mask making workshop at Amba Foundation . She  made hundreds of cloth masks for the organization for free distribution in the community. Since then she has been part of our sales  product-making team and supports her education and that of her younger brother with her earnings. A hard working and committed worker she dreams of opening her own boutique one day.

After completing her class 10, twenty year old Namita  had to drop out of school  to look after her ailing mother and siblings. Her father had a small book binding business in a village near the Delhi-UP border and  struggles to make ends meet. Having a passion for stitching and embroidery Namita  joined a  stitching course at Amba Foundation. Being a quick learner she soon joined the sales and production team at Amba. Today she is able to contribute to the family income and hopes to complete her education one day. Being young and talented she wants to save money to buy the best  electric sewing machine and  dreams of opening her own training school one day.