Over the years, the young women helped by the Indian association GIFT have managed to build a life beyond their slum.
They are now nurses, bankers and architects. They are changing the world around them and building a real home for their families. All of this thanks to the support of GIFT, which stood by them and looked after their health, their education and their environment.
Juhi started coming to the bus in 2011, when it served as a place of welcome for the little ones. Sponsored, she was one of GIFT's most faithful, went through every move of the day centre and followed her studies with interest. At 17 she chose to study hospitality. After three years of study, she has just opened her own pastry-making business. She also teaches cookery classes.
Her friend Bharti also came to the GIFT bus in its early days. After completing secondary school successfully, she chose the same hospitality path and graduated in 2020, proud to wear her chef's whites at the stove. She is looking for a good job in the sector and, in the meantime, takes orders for dishes and cakes that she delivers to people's homes.
Sanjeevani has always been seen as bright, intelligent and quick to help. After secondary school she wanted to become a nurse. Following her professional training she was taken on at Hinduja hospital, one of Mumbai's major care centres. Today she works at Tata hospital, one of the best care facilities in Mumbai.
Followed by GIFT since she was very young, Geeta has a passion: design and architecture. At the end of secondary school she took an interior design course. She went on to train in computing specialised in design. And now, while looking for a job that matches what she wants, she earns her living working in a call centre.
Suchita joined GIFT when she was at secondary school. At 17 she told us her favourite pastime: « I love reading the Mahabharata and learning the Indian constitution. I will become a chartered accountant, as I promised my father before he died ». She successfully completed a master's in commerce and today works in an accountancy firm.
And there is Prianka too, who after completing her higher education now works as an administrative assistant in a wholesale trading company. And Neha, who graduated in Arts in 2020 and has started working as an influencer for a marketing company.
Influencing young people, guiding them, supporting them until their dreams come true: this path is walked thanks to the GIFT team, thanks to the sponsors who fund studies that are sometimes long, thanks to this support structure for the girls of Jamrushinagar, thanks to GIFT and Un Toit a Bombay (UTAB), which joined HAMAP-Humanitaire in 2020.