When I was a child, my family was so economically weak that they couldn't afford food, let alone my education. As a child, I worked as a laborer to pay for my education, earning only 30 to 50 rupees a day. There were times when I went without food for several days. When I was hungry, I drank salt water to suppress my appetite and ate boiled drumstick leaves. On the rare occasions when I got two pieces of chapati for dinner, I felt like the luckiest boy in the world.

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Until my junior high school years, I wore torn clothes because my family couldn't afford new ones. It was embarrassing to walk into school in tattered clothes, and people made fun of me. I saw that educated people in my village had better lives, with enough food and decent clothes. This motivated me to study hard and change my family's life.

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My brothers and I decided that when we grew up, we would work hard to support those in need. It became our dream to help poor people. We planned to build a school for underprivileged children and provide free education. I know how important education is; it is the key to changing someone's life.

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About Women

There are thousands of women who suffer daily from torture and harassment. They are helpless because they are completely dependent on their husbands. When I was young, I knew a woman in my village who was beaten and tortured by her alcoholic husband. She worked hard every day in the fields and in wealthy people's homes, getting paid only in small quantities of rice. She could barely manage to feed her children two meals a day. She suffered because she was uneducated and didn't know any handicraft work.

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I was helpless to assist her because I was poor as well, and without an education. Thousands of women suffer every day because they are not financially independent and they have to rely on their husbands or fathers. Since then, I decided to teach women handicraft skills like sewing to help them become financially independent.

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The family situation can change when a woman is educated and financially strong enough to support her children. We often talk about women empowerment, but we don't always take action. My brothers and I have decided to work towards women's education and help them rise above the constraints of a male-dominated society.

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As mentioned, we all want to create positive change in this world, but often, we don't know where to start. The Sunny Foundation gives you the chance to make an immediate and tangible difference to the lives of 120 students who desperately need it.  Please help our dream, and the dreams of so many, come true.