Juin Datta and her group of friends would meet every once in a while to discuss and chat about world affairs.

In 2013, the group of ladies felt that they needed to do something beyond discussion. “As we were a bunch of teachers, we decided to do what we knew best — teach. So we started to go to a construction site and start teaching kids of the workers for free,” she says.

The response to their efforts was good, so the group divided their efforts and started to teach in three different locations in Vadodara. “Within some months, from a dozen kids, we went to teaching hundreds. But the problem was that every six months, these workers would move and hence the kids would be left with no education,” she says.

A child’s mother requested Juin to take her child under her wing and provide education as they were to migrate once more.

“This was how the idea of a hostel was born. A very kind philanthropist from the city helped us to get a property for rent,” she says. She started ‘Pathshala’, a residential school offering free education, shelter, and other essentials to underprivileged children.

Consequently, each child studies at different levels for various subjects. Upon completion of Level 5, a student becomes equivalent to be eligible to sit for Class 8, Juin informs.

Once the children are prepared to leave Pathshala, Juin assists them in acquiring vocational education to secure employment or gain admission to college for further education.

The residential school is currently home to 97 students who reside with Juin. Emphasising that the school runs on the kindness of people around her, she recalls, “There were times when we did not have enough money to pay for the construction. The construction leader would come up to me and say the money will come, you focus on getting the building constructed.”

If you wish to help Juin empower underprivileged children by providing them with good education and living conditions, here is how you can help.