Rukaiya grew up in a poor family in a small village in Bihar. When only in class four she was forced to drop out of school so that she could help her mother with household chores. Her parents married Rukaya off at the age of 15 and the young girl suddenly found herself living in a teeming slum in Kolkatar. Nothing in her rural home had prepared her for the challenges of urban squalor: the lack of space, no access to regular water supply, the high cost of staple foods. Her husband earned an irregular income from working as a semi-skilled artisan in a small shoe factory. Rukaiya soon realized that it was up to her to get a job to augment the scarce resources of the household; and, very importantly, find a school for her daughter so that the she could get the opportunity to complete her education unlike her mother.

Rukaiya enrolled Sumaiya into the Montessorie program of Ek Tara and the little girl blossomed in the happy environment. She studied here for a year and then joined Modern High School for Girls in 2012.where, right from the start, she has excelled in her class.

Rukaiya learns from her daughter. And she, in turn, instills her daughter with confidence and self-belief so that Sumaiya never feels less than equal to her schoolmates who come from far more privileged backgrounds. And for us at Ek Tara, Rukaiya is a powerful example of how one can turn around one’s life by making the most of every opportunity that comes one’s way.