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On March 8th 2022, when the world was celebrating ‘International Women’s Day’, a group of 26 young girls stepped on a small village road in Likhmewala 27PS, Rajasthan to complete their 5 kilometer run! It was the moment they had been preparing for the last 15 weeks. It was unprecedented, exhilarating, and festive! They had neither experienced the freedom of the road nor the thunderous clapping of the villagers upon return. But what they knew all along these 15 weeks is that they were learning new habits, getting stronger, making new friends, and enjoying running! Which is why we started…

Mentor - Pallavi Student - Aaina Aaina, like her older two sisters, studied at the local government school in her village Lakhahakam. The school, set up in the 1930s, has been witness to much; including creation of an international India-Pakistan border that now sits 3 km from the village. But the school probably hadn’t witnessed a student who scored impeccably perfect 100s in every subject, till Aaina came along. The teachers unanimously agreed that Aaina is the best student they had seen. It is those teachers who recommended Aaina to Hamari Laado. Aaina’s regret to date is that her 10th…

We close the year 2021 in an upbeat mood! What started as a career awareness event in collaboration with BSF in early October, turned into a 15 day preparatory training for students! All thanks to some exceptional individuals at BSF including the leadership at BSF Rajasthan, Sri Ganganagar and Sri Karanpur (77 Battalion!). In a first for the village and the school, a group of 38 students from 11th and 12th grade underwent training every morning from 8 am to 10 am. 24 Girls and 14 boys showed up on the school grounds amidst bitter cold, fog, and clouds. The…

On October 4 2021, in collaboration with BSF(Border Security Forces) Rajasthan, we hosted our first MARG event for 9th to 12th grade students! In our interaction with the girls during 'Giving Circle Kickoff', girls had shown an interest in careers in BSF and related fields. We reached out to the district BSF leadership and they obliged by sending a team of female and male leaders to talk to the students at the school. Here is what happened on that Monday! The whole school saw a flurry of excitement, with all students from 1st to 12th being excited to see various…

Sept 8th: Kickoff "Giving Circle" Sufali, recognized for excellence After almost a decade in the U.S., I moved back to Likhmewala - my village where I grew up. The village sits rather quietly on the India Pakistan border in Northern Rajasthan. It has one Government school. This is the school where I had learnt my first alphabets. The school has changed significantly over the last three decades, with many newly constructed classrooms! The school now teaches from 1st to 12th grade. It has an equal number of female and male students. As I envisioned three initiatives (NEEV, MARG, Giving Circle),…