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Voice of Slum - Part 2

The turning point - Part 2

At that time, Chandni did not even knew how to hold a pencil. But she tried hard and received her education, after enrolling into an open school program. When began her education , she was 10 and now she is pursuing her higher Secondary Education . This was the turning point for the young girl who went onto make Education of Street children the Mission of her life. 

While serving for Badhte Kadam, she met her first challenge where she found a couple of children imprisoned after being accused of stealing. “I remembered the horror of the day I was in prison and went to the police station to get the children released. It was one of my proud moments and it was then when my life took a turn for the better.” She added.

As Chandni’s motive was to serve for the underprivileged children she was determined she wanted to continue working for Badhte Kadam, as a result new education centers were opened, and more and more connected to these centers. Considering her hard work, soon she was appointed District Secretary and later promoted to National Secretary for the organization For better reach she stepped into social media platforms and also started working for a newspaper for the slum kids named as Balahnama. She worked as an editor for the newspaper where she used to tell stories of pain that they used to suffer when sexually abused, working as child labor, inequality and discrimination by the society and so on. Chandni also edits the magazine Slum Post which is a digital portal that publishes creative submissions from these street children.

 
The itch to make a difference by starting something on her own was strong and this led Chandni to start Voice of Slum. “The NGO was set up to take a step towards those who need us, those who were under the age of 18 and weren’t accepted by NGOs. This NGO is established with a mission to provide the basic amenities to the needed children. Various events organized by Voice of Slum is for the overall growth of children. Voice of slum connects with kids through street plays that creates interest and build confidence among them. Then gradually, they start educating them; work at Skill Development, Personality Training, Leadership Training, and Self-defense,” she informs.

Chandni said she is waiting for the moment the word ‘slum’ is prefixed to the word ‘kids’ (something that makes them invisible to the world, and they cease being kids) .Chandni Khan is one of the very few who escaped out of this mire. The efforts that she is putting to get others out of the same darkness is every bit laudable and we should salute the efforts of this determined girl.
-Sunidhi
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