Nargis

We are from the village. We came to Bombay because of a drought. My father came to earn money to feed us and to send us to school. When he came there was also fighting between Hindus and Muslims because of differences. My father decided to stay in Bombay only because it is not as much a dangerous place as our village was. When I was small I was naughty and talkative. I used to get nutritious food because my father worked hard. When I was small I used to cry a lot until people gave me sweets and then I would stop.

One interesting thing about me is I am sensitive. I feel others pain as though it is my own pain just like Helen Keller and Anne Frank.

Enough now. Let me tell you about my family. I face a problem in my family that my father is an alcoholic. He drinks alcohol and abuses others and others hit him and abuse him. I cry a lot and tell them not to hit him but they do not listen to me. That makes me unhappy.

I face a problem in my community that boys in our area are not good. When girls wear shorts they tease us and tell us to come with them to the movies. They fight among themselves at little things.

I have learnt that in life nothing is impossible, everything is possible. When we do difficult things, we realize they are easy, but we must have faith in ourselves. To believe in yourself is the biggest success. We have to work hard to achieve our goals. We are not going to become say a pilot overnight. We have to work for years and years. There is no word like impossible. These things I have learned at Akanksha.

Since I have joined Akanksha I have gotten so much knowledge and improved a lot in studies. I have changed my speaking skills and my behaviour towards people has improved.

In life, education is important because we can go outside and read and show people we are educated. If I were not educated I would work as a maid. But by studying I have gotten so much knowledge that I will be a different person tomorrow.

My dream is to become a teacher and to educate children. I want to change their lives. I don't want them to be drug addicts and alcoholics. They too have dreams. I will help them to achieve their goals and realize their dreams.

Kavita

I am a naughty girl. I am from a small village called Raigad. My parents were born in the village. They were not able to earn money and they wanted to educate us. In 1985 my parents came to Mumbai to earn money and to live a life like how educated people live. There are five members in my family. I have a very small and very supportive mother and two brothers Sagar and Sanjay who both go to school everyday. My mothers name is Vanita. She sells garlic. My father Prahlad works as a scrap seller.

My name is Kavita. I am 16 years old. I am tall and have a fair complexion. I am in the eighth standard. I am interested in drawing and making new friends anytime, anywhere. I also consider myself to be a good person. My weakness is that I can't see tears in my mother's eye, I can't see my friends go through lots of trouble, I cry easily and I feel upset when my mother and father fight without a reason.

I have problems in my family. There is discrimination and my father always gives all the rights to my brothers who can go anywhere and have fun with their friends but I can't go anywhere I have to just do my housework.

My mother inspires me because she works very hard more than my father. I think I am very lucky because I have a very brave mother. Why is she brave? Because she has lots of problems including my father and inspite of them she takes care of us, loves us a lot and sends us to school.

I have a dream to complete my mother's dream which means I have to study hard and buy a good flat to live in a good community.

Jeetendra

My family was living in a village called Sona Khali. My parents came here because there was a drought and riots were going on. My parents did not have any idea, so they came straight to Bombay. They didn't have any house to live in. Where we lived that place was like a jungle. They used a sheet of plastic to sleep. That time my eldest brother was born. I was not there.

I was born in 1989. When I was born in my house there was a little party because I was a boy. My father bought lots of meat for my family. That time when everyone ate that meat my whole family got fever and fell sick. My parents were very scared but in the end everyone went to the hospital and our problems were solved.

My weakness is that I get very angry and argue with everyone. My strength is I like to make everyone laugh.

In my community there are lots of drug addicts. They steal things to get money. People tease others if someone is mad. The people of our community make them dance and make fun of them.

In my family, my father sometimes drinks. Nowadays he has stopped but I think he will start again. There is only my mother who takes care of me. My brother does not help my mother and I get angry with him but my elder sister helps us in our home.

I have learned to respect people both younger and older and have learned to have confidence in yourself, how to speak English and be disciplined and how to be a nice human being.

My dream is to become a cricketer because in spite of having polio, I am the captain of my team and everyone says that I play very well.

Here is what we think:

I like to love everybody because if I don't like others then who is going to like me.
Sunita

My country is important to me because I live in my country and I was born in that country and I love that country.
Ram

I don't like it when young boys fall in the love.
Gitanjali

I have a dream that people should have a good education because if they educate themselves they will get nice jobs. If they get nice jobs, they will earn a lot to feed their children, wives and family.
Ravi

If I am good to others, some people will want to like me. In my life, my decisions are important.
Jeetendra

I have Akanksha that's why I don't want to leave Akanksha for my life.
Sonu

I want people to say that he did everything best in his life.
Ravi

Parents always give all the rights to the sons. They can go any place that they want. They have fun but daughters can't go anywhere. They only have to work in the house.
Kavita

Some husbands betray their wives because they are in love with some other woman because they are more beautiful than their wives.
Hina

In some families they have a very big family and they can't feed all of them because they don't have enough money to feed them.
Hina

People should say that her heart was as pure as water in a bottle, not that I was a lazy girl and had brain but did not use it at all.
Shakila

There is lot of corruption, lot of police take bribes. If that person does not bribe him, he puts him in the jail because he owns an illegal shop and this thing has happened with me also.
Ajay

In some families girls are not allowed to choose their husbands whom they like and love a lot.
Kavita

I want the people to say about me that I used to work at a young age and earn money and give it to my parent to feed my family.
Ajay

I want the people to say about me that in spite of having problems in my leg, I used to run, play in sports, games, dance and I used to do whatever a normal person can do.
Jeetendra

In the world people take a lot of dowry and that is why people around the world are killing girls. Uneducated people abort girls and some educated ones also and it upsets me.
Shenaz

My dream is that my family stays healthy and happy as in their happiness rests my happiness.
Hina