I have been selected to study Public Policy at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. (This institute ranks 1st in the world for development studies)
 
My context
I am a first-generation graduate in my family . I was born and raised in a slum in Mumbai, India. A community that was historically neglected by the administration because of its illiterate and migrant population. I remember my mother very often do not get free ration and she often use to end up paying for the ration which is supposed to be given free. These sparked my consciousness towards seeking my rights and I have managed to navigate poor governance and policy implementation by holding civic officials accountable for poor roads and sanitation and unequal distribution of rations.
 
These experiences during my formative years gave me strong survival skills and an unending motivation to do better for my community. As an adolescent, I often brainstormed ideas about bringing systemic changes by teaching people how to hold authorities responsible.
 
Working at the grassroots in the past 4 years has taught me that contextual sensitivities of caste, class, race, and gender are foundational to public policies. These personal experiences are my primary motivation to pursue the MA in Governance, Development, and Public Policy program.

Why do you fund me?
Having an in-depth 4 years of grassroots experience working within the communities and government administration in India. I have learned that contextualizing policies and their implementation is a major challenge. This course will help me learn to design policies and their implementation by enabling people's participation which thereby will complement people's progressive needs. With this, I intend to learn to influence policy design based on evidence and develop robust implementation mechanisms that empower communities in the developing countries
 
I request you to support me in my studies with your generous donation and share this with your friends and families.