New Delhi: On a small patch of ground in a crowded neighbourhood, 24-year-old Jyoti sits cross-legged with a circle of children, their notebooks open as she helps them read and finish their homework. A small quarrel breaks out over space on the mat. Jyoti settles it with a smile and nudges them back to work.For her, these afternoon classes are a way of giving other children the childhood she once lost.Jyoti grew up under a flyover, where mornings often meant ragpicking near the Nizamuddin railway tracks. When her father fell ill with tuberculosis and could no longer work, the family struggled to survive. She, too, slipped into substance abuse as a child, a battle that lasted nearly five years.But today, after completing Class 12 through the National Institute of Open Schooling, Jyoti works with the NGO Childhood Enhancement through Training and Action (Chetna), helping younger children stay in school and avoid the path she had taken once.Stories like Jyoti’s were at the centre of this year’s Women’s Day celebration during the foundation day celebrations at Chetna, where many women shared how difficult beginnings pushed them to help others.With most of its volunteers and leaders being women, the organisation also released a diary documenting the journeys of women who turned hardship into a drive to support others.Among them is Usha, who for most of her life did what countless women across India quietly do: put everyone else first.The eldest child in a modest family that ran a small grocery shop, Usha loved school and dreamed of becoming a teacher. But being the eldest daughter meant that responsibilities came early.“After school, I would come home and do all the household work,” she said. Still, she held on to the dream of becoming a teacher. She even applied for a teacher training course, but the centre was too far. At 19, she got married and moved into a large household, and the dream slowly faded.When her children began school, she sat beside them and helped them with their lessons. These moments reminded her of what she had once hoped for. Years later, while reading a newspaper with a friend, she spotted an opportunity to work with children through an NGO.“I had never worked before. I had never even travelled alone. I didn’t know how to take a bus,” she said.In 2002, she joined Chetna . The early months were difficult, but slowly her confidence grew. Today, Usha is 62. Looking back, she says that decision changed her life.“I may never have formally become a schoolteacher,” she said with a smile, “but in a way, I still became one.”Then there is Chanchal. One of ten siblings, she lost her father when she was young, and the responsibility of raising the family fell on her mother and elder brother. By the time Chanchal was 17 and in Class 12, she got married.“Shaadi toh ho gayi, par padhna toh tha hi,” she said. Continuing her education was not easy, but she kept going. Household responsibilities increased, and there was pressure to focus only on family life. For a long time, there was no clear direction.That began to change in 2022 when she learned about opportunities to work in the social sector. She kept noticing the many children around her who had never stepped inside a school. This year alone, Chanchal helped nearly 100 children enrol in school, determined that no child’s dream should remain buried under responsibility the way hers almost was.Behind many such journeys are also women working quietly to make them possible. For instance, Pooja, now a project head at Chetna, moved to Delhi at 22 after studying child psychology.“I always knew I wanted to do something with children,” she said.Today, even before the city fully wakes up, 30-year-old Pooja is often already at her laptop working on proposals for programmes that support vulnerable children. Here, every approved proposal means real help in reaching children on the ground.Another such journey is Asma’s. Married soon after Class 12, her education could easily have ended there. Instead, it became the start of a long academic journey. With strong support from her family and husband, she went on to complete two master’s degrees and a BEd, and is now pursuing a PhD. She joined Chetna while continuing her research and said the organisation’s environment of equality drew her in.Now a mother, Asma hopes her journey encourages more girls to continue studying after marriage.
