The Making of a Role Model:
What Family Support, Sambhali Trust Boarding Homes, and an Amazing Young Woman Can Do
At ten years old, Manisha agreed to move from her village and into Sambhali Trust’s Sheerni Boarding Home in Jodhpur—a decision she now credits with her current educational and future career success.
When Manisha arrived at the boarding home, she didn’t know any of the other girls who came from her village or nearby villages. Today as a college student at the Abhayasthali Boarding Home, Manisha says the boarding homes have provided her freedom, a space to cultivate friendships, and opportunities to give back through volunteering with Sambhali Trust’s scholarship program and teaching in the Trust’s workshops on sexual abuse and puberty in Jodhpur schools. Manisha is also immensely proud that during the devastating Delta COVID-19 wave in India she stayed in Jodhpur to help distribute emergency food to those in dire need.
Manisha’s choice to continue her education is deeply supported by her family. She is the first girl in her family to go beyond 8th grade, let alone to advance to college. Now she is both pursuing a degree in accounting and taking the many tests needed to eventually get a government job. Manisha speaks to her family every day, including often talking to her infant niece who she hopes one day will follow in her footsteps and be part of Sambhali Trust.
“I have two older sisters and they are so proud of me because I study so much. My family supports me…I also want my niece to come here [Sambhali Trust’s Boarding Homes] to get an education like me. I am happy in Sambhali so much and so I want my niece to also come here to study and everything will be good.”
In her journey from a small child in a rural village to a confident college student in the city, Manisha found her passion for helping others and gained her voice as a role model for generations to come.