Akanksha works with children who face challenges at home that no child should have to face. The following photos and quotes provide insight into our children’s home lives and their amazing resilience, courage, and ability to smile through it all.
“The most important thing in my life is my parents’ happiness because my happiness is in their happiness. The most important thing in my life is that my parents’ dream because I am their son and they don’t have another son so I have to fulfill their dream. Their dream is to have a nice home like a flat.”– Shyam
“I have water for 24 hours but my kids’ water in the Cuffe Parade community taps comes only from12:00-1:00. There are only 4-6 public toilets for a population over 1000 people.” – Nikki Didi
“I need to be independent because my parents don’t have work and I have to work and give the money to my mother to cook food for my family because I am not sure that they will earn money everyday.”– Ajay
“People should say about my life that he used to help the poor when their home got broken. He used to rebuild their house.” – Panka
“As I walk through crowded lanes people welcome me, ‘Didi, Didi’. I have never felt so much love, warmth and importance as I do here. Everyone leaves their chores to greet me. They welcome me into 6 feet by 6 feet homes with no ventilation and damp floors. If you look around, you can see the whole world concealed in one room.” – Deba Didi
“Our community doesn’t seem a clean place. It is always littered. We don’t have a proper bathroom and toilet place. In the rainy season it becomes very difficult as the roofs and walls leak. But even then I love my community because this is where I have been and lived for many years.” – Pooja
sending...