Young children are often encouraged to dream and aspire. The one common question that all of us have heard all through our childhood is, "Beta, what do you wish to become when you grow up?"

But have you ever imagined what this question means to those who are limited by their surroundings? To those who are exposed to the harsh realities of life at a tender age. What does it mean to be burdened by responsibilities at an age when they are supposed to be in schools, cared for by parents and teachers alike?

A child from the street, living in the slums also has dreams that he wishes to attain. But, the question of reaching them seem distant and unattainable in the face of the harsh realities that he sees growing up.

He also dreams, but not of buying cars and houses, or a splendid exotic vacation. He dreams of a good shirt for Diwali, or a sweet when he is hungry. And even if he dares to dream those dreams that we see, it will take him a lifetime of struggle to realise that the world is cruel and childhood dreams naive, that it takes more than will, sweat and luck.

But what if we get a chance, a chance to bring a ray of hope in these dark and gloomy lives. What if we can give them a will to fight, to fly, to dream? What if you could be the reason for someone's priceless smile. Not because of a toy or a fancy dress or a sweet that you donated some random day. But because you gave him something more lasting. You taught him how to read, how to speak, you taught him the difference between good and bad, you taught him how to make decisions.

At 'Igniting Young Minds' (IYM) by 'Leaders for Tomorrow', that is the change that we bring.

IYM is a flagship project by Leaders for Tomorrow which started in the year 2009. It's objective is to 'enhance the personality of less privileged children by providing them with life skills training'. The underprivileged children of urban slums are often trained by the harsh way of life and have more confidence than their sophisticated counterparts. But what they do not know is how to channelise this confidence into 'creative energy'.

IYM is working in more than 50 shelter homes in Delhi/NCR and is spreading its wings across cities including Bengaluru, Jaipur, Karnal, Kanpur etc., touching lives of over 30,000 children. These sessions are helping them come a step closer to realizing their dreams.

Your kind donations are essential to reach out to these children who have dreams in their eyes but little support in attaining them.

So come forward, donate to help them grow to achieve their aspirations! Contribute to changing the young lives around us! As the father of our nation has aptly said, "Be the change, you want to see in this world ".