Over the past three decades, Deepalaya has established 6 formal schools and over 500 educational centers where over o 50,000 beneficiaries have been  educated.  We have always believed, education is the primary step in becoming self reliant and have encouraged empowerment through education for a future that is bright and dignified.
Each year, we are moved by certain stories which inspire us to make a still greater effort in mainstreaming the marginalized, and helping them in any which way possible.
Here are stories of Niranjan and Ritu- students of Deepalaya School Sanjay Colony, just two of the many stories that surfaced this year.

 
Niranjan has never had it easy in his life. His father, a book binder has always struggled to make his ends meet, while his mother and younger sister stay far away in a remote village in Bihar. However, Niranjan did not let any of it come in between, and scored a respectable 75% in his class XII board examinations which he cleared this year from Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Sarvodaya Bal Vidhyala- a school he joined after completing class X from Deepalaya School.

Niranjan with his beloved teachers from Deepalaya School

A hard working student, Niranjan has been a recipient of a number of prizes in quiz competitions held at Deepalaya.. Having a passion for writing, he  has won three essay writing competitions. An ex member of the Delhi Child Rights Club,today he  looks forward to a career in the IT sector, and wants to join a multinational corporation. When asked, Niranjan loves to talk about the times spent at Deepalaya school , undertaking numerous extracurricular activities that are organized in the school. He is very expressive of the foundation that was laid by Deepalaya in his education, and is thankful to the organization, his teachers and his sponsor parent Ms. Margaret C. Smith for always providing a very supportive environment.

 
 Ritu shares a similar story. Deepalaya has been the guide, the mentor in her pendulum swinging life, which has had more downs than ups. Ritu was the first person in her family to attend school, while rest of her family can barely read. Her family has faced serious financial problems, much owing to her alcoholic father, who passed away in 2008, when she was in class VIII.


                Ritu with her teacher Ms.Bharti  Pandey

Fourteen years ago Deepalaya took Ritu under its wings, and her education was sponsored by Mr. Helmut Christen at Deepalaya School Sanjay Colony, where she studied till class X. She moved on to complete her education at the government aided  Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyala  in South Delhi, from where she completed her class XII by securing 80% humanities. Today, Ritu’s eyes are burning with ambition, and she looks forward to her life in college.

Ritu’s life, her story, her ambitions would have probably been left incomplete, without the able guidance and support,the staff at Deepalaya School provided her. Growing up in an environment, where each day was a struggle for survival , Deepalaya was the guide whose hand she held on to in times when there was no one to fall back on, no one to support her. This is also the right time to thank her sponsor, Mr. Helmut, without whose support, Ritu would have surely not seen this day, and would have had a very different story to share.

 
A rigourous application , A seperate test on fluency in English, and finally an interview with the American Embassy at Delhi .
 
This was the selection process Neha went through in order to achive her long cherished dream of studying in a foreign country. She was one of the Super Six Alumni  who was chosen for a year long  study in the US under the Community College Initiative Program 2010-11. Neha studied at the Community College at Salt Lake City, and her field of study was Health Science.
 
Neha is now back home-and has emerged as a strong , confident girl who dares to dream still more vast, and is confident of accomplishing them . Though her stay at Salt Lake City is over for now, her journey has only begun. She now will focus on completing her graduation in Physical Education which she bartered for the year spent at Salt Lake City. She then wants to do her masters and then eventually become a professor .
 
It was her dedication towards studies which kept Neha busy throughout her stay. She completed 42 credits even though only 32 credits are required . Her daily schedule revolved around her college, where evenings were spent working on assignments to be submitted the day after, and morning preparing for lectures through the day .
 
Neha's host family palyed a major role in helping her settle down.What came across as a striking difference was the Western culture-to which she took to like a fish to water. Her plans for a future includes a completing  her Masters  from the US: and then she would settle down with her family in India for... "East or West, India is the Best".
 
Here is another success story to Deepalaya's cap . Deepalaya has always belived in empowering individuals to become self reliance- and now eagerly awaits the remaining five  and the impact life in the US has left on them.