Richard’s father worked as a painter before entering the Real Estate business. Family income depended on the clients he secured every month. His mother is a homemaker and his younger sister, not keeping well, dropped out of college. 

Feeling lost and unsure of what to do in life, he enrolled for a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) course in S E A College, K R Puram, Bangalore. In 2017, some of his friends, who were attending the like skills programme at Dream a Dream’s Thriving Centre in K.R.Puram, pulled Richard along. While attending his first session there, he felt different, he felt that he could learn. He grabbed the opportunity to learn Photoshop and photography here.  

“I was drawn to Photography and the life stories shared by my photography facilitator inspired me. It gave me the courage to take my hobby to the next level. I started exploring myself and began questioning my purpose. I joined this programme believing that I didn’t have any talent or skill but during the programme, I developed the confidence to take the bold step of making photography my career. After completing my BCA, I bought my first DSLR camera by selling my bike. I was determined. My family and friends called me crazy and put me down multiple times, saying that even though I am a graduate, I was pursuing something other than my studies. I didn’t listen to them as I believed I could excel in photography. In it, I found my calling.”

Richard did not let society define success for him even when it was hard to convince people closest to him. Choosing not to walk the traditional path of a BCA graduate, securing a white collar job in a corporate company, he redefined success for himself. This did not mean that his dream was small. He dreamt of opening his own photo studio. 

Dreaming with eyes wide open, he returned to Dream a Dream, to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship through a programme run at the Thriving Centre, K.R.Puram. Even though Richard was a technically skilled photographer, he did not know how to convert this passion into a business venture. 

“I did not want to work under anyone. I had all the technical knowledge to be a photographer but didn’t know how to build my network and secure clients for my business.”

This programme helped him understand the business side of photography, helping him build his client base. He also received a scholarship to start his own studio.

While pursuing the Entrepreneurship course, he also decided to give back to society by facilitating a free photography course for young people in the Thriving Centre in K R Puram, Bangalore, India. Richard has facilitated 11 batches of Photography for more than 200 young people. 

“Over 4 years, Dream a Dream helped me discover my career path and transformed me into a confident and enterprising person. It was time to give back.” 

Richard Roy, at the young age of 21, established his own photography studio and specialises in fashion and event photography, earning handsomely per photo-shoot. Recently he represented Dream a Dream at the “Finding Solution to the Problem” conference organised by UNICEF. Here, he got an opportunity to talk to Ms. Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Welfare about Dream a Dream’s work  and how he was impacted by its programmes. 

On a thriving journey, which has only just begun, Richard is a force to reckon with. Unstoppable, determined and fiercely ambitious, he has inspired many young people to pursue their passion and to learn continuously, even when the road to thriving is tough and elusive. 

“Success is not just achieving something, but being an inspiration to others and seeing them succeed in life.”

The post Richard appeared first on Dream a Dream.

Varshitha saw her father sitting idle all day while her mother juggled work, as a housekeeping staff at a private company in Bangalore during the day and as a house help in a nearby apartment complex, after office hours. Her younger brother went to school, too young to comprehend the scarcity at home. Varshitha wanted to continue studying after completing her Pre-university college, but hesitated to share this with her mother, concerned about the pre-existing burden on her, being the sole breadwinner and caregiver of the family. Her mother always ensured availability of daily essentials at home and encouraged her children to study to break out of the cycle of poverty. Varshitha admired the strength she saw in her mother and wanted to be like her. 

Empathetic towards the financial struggle in her family and to support her mother, she joined as a tele-caller at a call centre. One day, her friends excitedly shared about the free courses they were enrolled for at Dream a Dream’s Thriving Centre in Bommanahalli (Bangalore, India). Curious, Varshitha enrolled into the Basic Computer course, where she found the facilitators to be very different from her teachers in school and college. They made her feel that her views mattered. They appreciated her strength to explore and learn new skills, something she did not realise she possessed. After completing the Computer course, she could not stop herself from enrolling in the Dance course. She had always wanted to learn dance, but could not afford the cost of classes. 

To contribute to her family income, she began dancing with orchestra bands at public events. Due to fear of ridicule and reprimand, she did this without her family’s knowledge. One day, she was found dancing at an event by a relative, who chided her for bringing a bad name to the family and stopped her from performing anymore, cutting the source of the little income she added to her family. Not one to sit idle, Varshitha used her earnings to enrol into a Bachelor of Arts distance learning course. She started dreaming of becoming an army personnel and joined the NCC to pursue this. But life had other things in store for her. 

Her family met with a terrible road accident in January 2020 and Varshitha ended up with a fracture, spine and hand injury. Bedridden and on life support, her pursuit of dreams came to a halt. After a year of battling for survival, she started picking the pieces of her life together. The lessons taught by the facilitators encouraged her to keep fighting for her dreams. She had learnt from them to follow her passion and invest herself into it with hard work and determination without getting discouraged with failures or being preoccupied with the urgency of results. She was taught to be independent, have self-belief, make mistakes and try again, until she succeeds. Even with a terrible hand pain that would stay all her life, her grit and never-say-die attitude pushed her up from the bed. 

Professional make-up artists were in demand in the market then and she started researching ways to enrol into such a course. After indepth research, careful to not make any hasty decision, she spoke to her mother to enrol in a  course at a private make-up academy. This required her to procure an education loan. Wary of the financial burden it will add, Varshitha was delighted when her mother encouraged her to take it up showing complete confidence in her abilities.  Such unconditional positive regard from a parent was critical for Varshitha to thrive. She joined a make-up course and simultaneously started posting photos of her work on social media to build her brand. Attracting a few free collaborations, she slowly expanded and started charging for her work. With funding support from Dream a Dream, she built her professional makeup kit.

Today, she works as a receptionist at a private IT firm during the day and as a food delivery person during the late evening hours. She also takes make-up orders from clients, on demand. Her struggles have made her extremely hard working and driven. She understands the value of each rupee despite earning well now and success has not made her complacent. 

Battling pain in her injured hand, Varshitha is unstoppable. Massaging her hand, she says, “Whether I do something or not, my hand will not stop aching, I would rather do something and make the pain worthwhile.” 

She dreams of opening a training academy to teach the skills of professional make-up to interested young people, at a reasonable cost, for people like her, who have a passion, but lack the resources to achieve their dreams.  She also wants to give a cycle to her brother soon and buy her own house someday. With a determined will to change her life, Varshitha is a true example of how young people are building their future empowered with life skills that helped her navigate her life with optimism despite many obstacles and craft her own idea of success. Thriving for Varshitha is being Resilient in the face of challenges life throws at her, being Responsible for the choices she made and feeling Happy by owning her story and accepting herself. 

The post Varshitha appeared first on Dream a Dream.

The post Amarnath appeared first on Dream a Dream.

The post PAVAN appeared first on Dream a Dream.

The post HARI PRASAD appeared first on Dream a Dream.

Eshwari and Pushpa were informed about the opportunity to volunteer at a local examination centre. They had to distribute masks, sanitize the students, and help them maintain social distance. The SSLC exams in Karnataka was from 25th June – 03rd July 2020.
They On the day of the exam, they reported two hours beforehand to ensure protocols were in place for the safety of the students. Their services were appreciated by the State government and also by The Bharath Scouts and Guides. They were recognized as COVID-19 Warriors and were felicitated for their efforts during the lockdown.

The post PUSHPA AND ESHWARI appeared first on Dream a Dream.

Shafiya Khanuma is a 20-year-old whose journey at Dream a Dream started off when she was pursuing her 7th standard at Excellent English School where she was a part of many workshops; reminiscing her first workshop she shares “I remember the Tree of Life activity that was conducted by Dream A Dream at my school, I remember this activity because it was the first time I was made to think about what I wanted to be”.
Shafiya comes from a family of 5 which includes her father, mother, brother and 2 sisters. Her father has mental health issues due to which he was unable to continue to work as a tailor and her mother looks after her family’s needs full time. Shafiya’s brother works as a mechanic and is the sole bread winner to the family. Shafiya takes on part time jobs when possible to support her family
After her brief journey with Dream a Dream in her school, she learnt about the Career Connect Centre run by Dream a Dream and joined the Life Skill development programme where spoken English is used as a medium to develop life skills.
Recollecting her sessions Shafiya expressed “When I joined the spoken English sessions, I lacked confidence and it was difficult for me to express myself to others. Even in college, I spoke only to my circle of friends and didn’t interact with others in the spoken English sessions. I participated in a lot of role plays and took on many leadership roles which helped me with my confidence and also help me interact with others in a better way”.
Shafiya has received scholarship support from Dream a Dream from past 3 years “My brother is the only earning member in my family; my sister just got married we had to spend a lot on the wedding, my other sister just completed her studies and is looking for a job there is a lot of pressure on my brother financially the scholarships from Dream a Dream help me pay my fee and reduce the burden on my brother”.
Shafiya also supports her family by tailoring and applying Henna designs in weddings and functions. She states “I knew how to stitch and how to apply mehendi but I was not satisfied with my work until Dream a Dream gave me an opportunity to perfect my skills by means of the skill development sessions and also taught me how to market myself to my customers this helped me taken on more orders and expand my customer base. My dream is to be a stylist who can stitch, provide makeup services and also apply mehendi “.
During the lockdown Shafiya got an opportunity to really explore her skills as an entrepreneur. She started sharing her work on social media through Whatsapp. People started recognising her work and she started receiving many mehendi orders and dress orders for marriages during the lockdown.
Due to lockdown, most parlours were closed and Shafiyya gained more opportunities through referrals. The demand for her work multiplied.
She is experimenting with designing of bridal dresses using her mother’s old sarees to promote sustainable fashion.
Shafiya’s confidence in her skills and her attitude of resilience has helped her in creating a means of livelihood out of her passions that also allows her to support her family.
“My brother is the only earning member in my family; my sister just got married we had to spend a lot on the wedding, my other sister just completed her studies and is looking for a job there is a lot of pressure on my brother financially the scholarships from Dream a Dream help me pay my fee and reduce the burden on my brother”.

The post Shaifya Khanum appeared first on Dream a Dream.

Anita grew up in a conservative, traditional family where she was not allowed to go out of the house on her own or interact with boys at school or in the neighbourhood. Her father has an alcohol addiction which led to many troubled evenings at home. Her mother was unwilling to send her to the Dream a Dream Programme since it involved playing Football, traditionally considered to be a boy’s sport, but she persisted.

At Dream a Dream, if a young person is turning up for the session, without force or coercion, we know they are getting something from the programme that they are yet to discover. Her aggressive behavior continued in the programme and many a time, she refused to listen to the facilitator or attempt to reconcile conflicts. She was quite happy staying out of the sessions. Anitha adds, “Many times I refused to do anything or to take responsibilities during a session. When I started to refuse those things I felt that they are forcing me to do the activity so I use to leave the activity and go back to van quietly sitting there.” Anitha further adds, “When I joined Dream A Dream’s life skills programme, I never used to listen to what the facilitator is saying or what others are saying and never care for others. Even at home I was not listening what my mother is saying or what father was saying. And because of this my parents also started not to take care of me.”

Things changed when Revanna (another graduate from Dream A Dream who had joined as a Life Skills facilitator) took over the sessions for Anitha’s batch. Anitha remembers that moment vividly. She said, “One day Revanna had a football session and after an hour he did some interesting session which was about communication and respecting each other. Here everyone was discussing about their real life situations but I was the only one who was not talking anything in the circle. While discussion was happening I was processing about all the mistakes I have done in the past and what I was getting back from the people. After this session I tried to talk with my team mates in a different manner but still in the beginning it was little difficult to mingle with other. I started realizing myself what I am. What are my strengths and skills by seeing these things in me even my family which putting restrictions on me they only started to send for the program and they encouraged me to go the session.”

Anitha’s experience with Dream a Dream led her to build a dream for herself. She realized that there are other children like her who face challenges but don’t have a role model or a facilitator to support them. When she graduated from school, she promptly reached out to Dream a Dream and became our first woman facilitator for the Life Skills through Football programme. It’s been 3 years since Anitha joined as a facilitator. Today, life has come a full circle; she goes back to her school as a facilitator. The children, especially girls, look upto Anitha as someone they want to be like when they grow up. The teachers and principal are proud of Anitha. Anitha proudly says, “Now I am working as a Life skill facilitator from past 3 years with younger children in Dream a Dream. Here I am having lot of experiences and learning while working with children. Even now I see many children who are very talented than me and myself creating space to those children to become a changemaker in the society. I am enjoying this work and happy to continue to work with children till the end.”

The post ANITA appeared first on Dream a Dream.

His father worked in the garment industry. But his poor health did not allow him to work for long hours. He also washed cars to add to the family income. Vishwa’s mother a resilient and hard-working lady, managed home while being occupied as a guard. His sister is a student.  “I am very proud of my family,” an elated Vishwa says.

Vishwa was not only a part of the Dream After School Life Skills Program but the Career Connect Program too. He recalls, “I was a very shy, silent, and lazy boy, but during the camps I did a lot of work and got an opportunity to show my leadership. I was appreciated there and that motivated me.  I felt being active in life is very important.”

Vishwa’s aim was to join the defence forces and serve the country, but he could not qualify because of an eye sight problem.  He always wanted to do a degree in animation, but the fat fee structure was a deterrent.  Not the one to give up, he chose to do BSc where he could learn computers and then try to get into animation.

The tides changed for Vishwa when he got an opportunity to go to the US to do media studies at College of DuPage, Chicago through the Career Connect Program.

Vishwa returned from the US, and felt it was a life-changing experience. He said, “I feel that I am more confident and independent than before, and now I have goals for my future. Without having realized it, I have changed a lot for the better.  I now have the certificate of having studied in the US, have best friends in more than 15 countries, have visited many places in the US which I had just dreams of going to, have gotten the experience of studying with American students, and have learned about different cultures of different countries. I also interned and volunteered in many places, which made me feel good. I am very happy about the outstanding results I got in my classes in the US. I would like for Dream Connect Center to send more students abroad. Like me, this would provide them with a similar opportunity to change their lives and become a better person.”

Vishwa is now working with a well-known editing company in Bangalore and has grown in the Company. He continues to volunteer with Dream a Dream when he gets a chance. 

The post VISHWA DEWAN appeared first on Dream a Dream.

Padma was in 8th grade, when she joined Dream a Dream and came across as a very quiet girl, with little confidence and unable to interact with others. She was part of various programmes through the schooling years, struggling through her low self-esteem, but always been a diligent participant.

At Dream a Dream, we believe, when a young person turns up week-on-week for a programme, they are showcasing their commitment and we value, validate and celebrate that.

Padma pursued her Pre-University education after completing her schooling and became a participant at the Career Connect Center run by Dream a Dream close to her home. Meanwhile we were starting the Career Connect Centre. She dropped out of education after her 1st year of Pre-university education. Academics did not interest her and she was struggling to cope with the stress. Her family pressurized her to continue education and admitted her to a government run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) for vocational training. She dropped out of it in 2 months.

Padma’s interest was fuelled again when we introduced an opportunity to pursue a year-long dance scholarship programme with Lourd Vijay Dance School (LVDS). Being a passionate dancer, she decided to apply. She didn’t believe that she would get through it, she kept saying, “I’m bad at it, and I think I’ll just try. I think there are so many people who dance better than me; I think they’ll get it, not really me.”

Padma was elated with happiness when she was selected for the programme. This was the breakthrough in life she was looking for and she had got it. She said, “After dropping out of ITI, I was back to square one – sitting at home, doing household work and nothing else. I am sick of sitting at home. I felt hopeless but right now, I feel like I’m in a new world.”

Padma’s mother was disappointed that Padma didn’t continue her education and ITI.  Her dropping out caused a lot of financial loss to her family because they paid a huge amount for the course fees. Padma’s mother blamed her daughter for their woes but ultimately said, “At the end of the day, it’s her choice. It’s awesome that she has you; she has Career Connect and other people to support, which she is not utilizing. I don’t think anyone would get this opportunity.”

Padma transformed when she found her dream for life. She would eagerly share about her experiences at LVDS, share stories from her days with excitement and confidence and express her joy abundantly. She would confidently interact with other young people from diverse backgrounds and had found her self-esteem.

Recently she was invited to be a guest speaker at an Alumni Meet at Dream a Dream. Padma stood in front of 60 young adults, volunteers and guests and shared her story with confidence inspiring other young people to pursue their dreams. She had truly become a changemaker.

Today, Padma has successfully completed her course and was immediately hired by LVDS as a dance teacher in one of their school-based programmes. She is teaching dance and life skills of children from difficult backgrounds. She is confident, proud and living her dream.

The post PADMA appeared first on Dream a Dream.