I am Shranya Gambhir and I teach 56 sixth graders in Shantabai Ladkat School, a low-income government school in Pune. The school is situated in a corner of the city dominated by low income families who struggle in getting their basic needs met. Most students' parents are vegetable vendors, rickshaw pullers, sweepers, maids or run small-time shops. Many are single working parents, who have to support large families.

My students are over three years behind the average student in class 6. However, they are just as curious and ambitious as any other child their age studying in a private school. Despite being aware of the obstacles and challenges in their lives, they never doubt what they can achieve. Unlike other classrooms, students here are at different levels and require differentiated intervention. Kirti, at class level 4 I requires textbooks suited for her needs, Prathmesh and Sakshi, who have not been taught to read, require textbooks that help identify alphabets and teach phonetics! My classroom is full of little dreamers and nothing apart from where they were born, predetermined their fate for them!

Support me in being able to meet their different needs and provide them with resources that will help them be at par with other students, so that they have a fair shot at achieving their dreams; help me give them a fair start in a long and grueling race ahead!