For millions of women living in poverty in India, education is an elusive dream.

For Ather, a 38-year-old single mother living in the state of Telangana, her dream to become a nurse had been present from a young age, like an apparition in the back of her mind that more solidly materialized throughout the seasons of her life, briefly haunting her with visions of what could have been.

The dream was there when she had to drop out of school at age 14 to help tend to her siblings.

It was there a few years later when she got married.

And yet again, it was there as she stumbled under the weight of the responsibility that came with trying to support four children on one meager income.

So, Ather set aside her dream to dream instead for her children.

She focused on fighting to ensure they would have access to the education that she never did — so that they would not have to know what it’s like to live with the heartache of a dream never realized.

That was more than six years ago.

Today, Ather is enrolled in the 10th grade, intent on making up the schooling she missed as a child, and her own dreams are once again at the forefront.

“It is very important to me to get educated because this will be [the] key to my dreams,” Ather said. “I aspire to be a nurse in five years, and to show the world what I can do.”

Thanks to the support of a new scholarship program for mothers in Unbound’s Telangana program, Ather’s once elusive dream — and the dreams of many other Indian mothers like her — is becoming reality.

Why a scholarship program for mothers in India is necessary

Since the Right to Education Act (RTE) was signed into law in India more than 14 years ago, granting free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14, the country has made great strides in improving access to quality education and increasing school enrollments.

However, educational disparities between men and women are still present today. The literacy rates in Indian women lag behind that of men, with 69% of women literate in 2022 compared with 83% literacy in men. Though the reasons for this are complex and varied, many women end their educations early to help their families with housework, look after siblings or get married.

In Unbound’s Telangana program, these were some of the main reasons for educational disparity staff members heard about from the mothers of newly sponsored children.

Saritha Mendanha, coordinator of Unbound Telangana, said the voices of many mothers were thinly underlined with a deep regret for not being able, against their own wishes, to complete their studies.

“I could hear their silent, ‘I wish …’ with a sigh of sadness and helplessness,” said Mendanha, who has been serving Unbound families in Telangana for 15 years.

“We heard their stories for years, witnessed their knowledge, skills and strengths despite not having formal educations. Their messages were clear — all they were waiting for was the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.”

So, in 2022, in answer to mothers’ grievances, Unbound Telangana staff created a scholarship program just for the mothers of sponsored children.

It isn’t the first time that local staff have worked to create a solution to the issue of women’s inequality. Many of the staff, Mendanha included, grew up in similar environments as the mothers they now work with. In fact, it was in India more than two decades ago that Unbound established its first mothers groups.

The organization’s program model has long supported the conviction that empowered mothers are a force of positive change for their families, communities and in their own lives. In fact, Unbound research has shown that 90% of mothers with sponsored children believe that — with the right support system in place — they have the power to change the lives of their families.

In addition, education has widely been considered as a milestone for women’s empowerment because it equips women and girls to confront traditional roles, change their statuses within both their families and in society, and motivate their own children.

It was to this end that Telangana staff introduced the scholarship program to its first mother scholars, aptly calling it the “Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program.”

In the Telugu language, “Kalala Sakaram” means “dream come true.”

How the scholarship program for mothers works

Mendanha describes the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program as “giving wings to the dreams” of mothers.

So far, 42 mothers are scholars under the new program — 39 are the mothers of currently sponsored children, while three are the mothers of previously sponsored children. Nine of the mother scholars are single mothers.

The Telangana scholarship program for mothers is modeled after the Unbound Scholarship Program that has been in existence since 1998, providing tuition assistance and other study-related costs to promising sponsored or non-sponsored youth for secondary school, vocational training or higher education.

Mothers of current sponsored children and mothers of children who have retired from the program in the last two years are eligible to apply for the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program in Telangana as long as they demonstrate a strong focus in goal orientation, one of Unbound’s key program characteristics.

Unlike in the youth scholarship program, mothers in Kalala Sakaram are not required to complete community service hours, and they are given up to two years’ time to obtain passing grades in a course as they learn to adjust their work-life balance to accommodate their studies.

“To be eligible, at a minimum, mothers must have a clear personal goal and a realistic plan to achieve that goal,” Mendanha explained.

Some mothers needed to begin their educational journeys at the basic level, enrolling to complete 10th- or 12th-grade courses in open schooling in Telangana, while other mothers were ready at the outset to pursue higher education or professional studies.

According to Mendanha, the program does not solely aim to increase mothers’ employability in the workforce but is meant to act as encouragement to them to take that next step in their educational journey, to stand alongside their family and community with dignity and lead by example.

“We encourage by reminding them that ‘decisions make destiny’ — with this one decision, they are creating their own destiny,” Mendanha said.

Mothers join their children in creating their own destinies with the scholarship program

Anitha’s goal — and the destiny she is creating for herself — is to become a lawyer.

With the help of the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program, the 39-year-old mother of two is in her third year of study, pursuing a degree in law, which she hopes to obtain in 2026.

She arises at 4 a.m. each day to devote two hours to her studies before beginning her household chores.

“My main intention to complete this course is to fight for women’s rights and humanitarian rights in the courts of law,” Anitha said.

Anitha grew up with seven siblings in an Indigenous tribe, and her family moved frequently. That alone would have made consistent education difficult, but she said she also had to contend with the fact that her mother believed education was unnecessary for her children.

Anitha has witnessed the power of education and the doors it can open for her own family. Her daughter, Erra, is a graduate of Unbound’s sponsorship and scholarship programs and now works for Unbound’s Telangana program as a social worker. With the support of Unbound, Erra was able to earn a college degree, something that Anitha takes pride in and was inspired by. Erra was the one who encouraged her mother to enroll in the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program.

“Only with education can one reach any status of life,” Anitha said.

Devi, the mother of 15-year-old sponsored child Shanmukha, also feels the support of her family as she completes her second year of study for a bachelor’s degree in commerce. She studies for exams alongside Shanmukha, and they quiz each other when their subject matter aligns.

Devi, 34, had once dreamed of being a math teacher, but as a youth was only able to complete schooling up to the 11th grade. Though many women in her neighborhood work in factories or as domestic workers or tailors, Devi and her husband were both lucky to find jobs in sales.

Thanks to Kalala Sakaram, with the completion of her bachelor’s degree in one more year, for the first time in her life, Devi will qualify for a promotion at work and a higher salary.

Helping close the gap on women’s education in India

Since the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program launched in 2022, it has served to remind Mendanha that higher education for women is one of the most overlooked means for ending poverty among families. She’s inspired daily by the personal sacrifices, strength, determination and resilience of the mother scholars on their quest to create their own destinies, born of an opportunity they once thought they would never have again.

Thus far, seven mother scholars have fully completed their educations. Two mothers have completed professional courses in general nursing, midwifery and multi-purpose health worker training and are enrolled in college this year. One mother scholar completed pre-primary teacher training, while another earned a master’s degree in library science.

The successes of these first mother scholars of the Kalala Sakaram Scholarship Program have inspired other mothers in Unbound Telangana and their non-sponsored neighbors and friends in their communities.

“It is our hope that our mother scholars and the staff can pave the way for more [mothers] to join [the scholarship program] by helping them eliminate the reasons that are standing between them and their dream of gaining an education,” Mendanha said.

Through the support of Kalala Sakaram, Mendanha believes the mothers of sponsored children will find the confidence they need to take ownership of their development and to eventually lead, not only their families, but their communities toward greater equity and prosperity.

Bibeth has a system for deciding whether to read a book.

“I … read the first page,” she said. “If I see that it is so interesting, and I can find important things, I go there and see it and read that book.”

Apparently, she finds the first page interesting quite often because this bright, inquisitive 10-year-old sponsored child from Kigali, Rwanda, has become a voracious reader with a passion for learning.

Reading is an oasis for Bibeth. She loves stories with morals, like the one about Nyantagambirwa, the greedy man, and the one about Sarah, the little girl whose singing brought joy to her village. She enjoys telling visitors about books she’s read.

“[Reading] makes me so happy, and there are some books that give me lessons I must need in my life,” she said.

She’s found her happy place

For a child who loves to read, a library is a special place. Bibeth is fortunate to have two that she can escape to. One is in her school.

“In break time, we go to ask our headmaster if we can go in the school library and read,” she said. “[He gives us] a key and we go there and read. When they ring [the bell], we go back in the class.”

The other is the Kigali Public Library, which Bibeth’s family discovered while they were looking for a bookstore. They were discouraged at how expensive books were and decided instead to use some of Bibeth’s sponsorship money to purchase an annual subscription to the library.

“… I felt happy when I paid that money because she [gets good use out of it],” her father, Joseph, said. “She really likes to read books. That makes me happy. I didn’t get any opportunity in my childhood to read any books. … So, when I see my daughter is reading, it makes me proud of her.”

Bibeth goes with her mother, Chantal, to the library a few times every month. She is allowed to bring home five books. She always returns them well before they’re due.

“Oh, they give me three weeks, but me, I can read them in two or one,” Bibeth said.

Absorbing knowledge

For children sponsored through Unbound, education is one of the principal benefits. All children in the program are required to be enrolled in either formal academic education or vocational training. The value the organization places on education is entirely in sync with the values of Bibeth’s parents.

Chantal was a teenager when her daughter was born. Determined to graduate, she returned to high school, taking her baby with her to classes, and earned her diploma. She wants Bibeth to have that same desire to learn.

Joseph wants that, too, especially since he believes his own education was lacking.

“My education was not good because I didn’t go to the good college or good primary school,” he said. “But I decided that … I will invest [in helping] my child to study because I know the value of studying.

“Every [parent’s] mind … goes to their children. I [envision] how my children will live, will study. I see them in good colleges, in good universities. What I didn’t get in my childhood, I see them getting — knowledge.”

Knowledge is something Bibeth eagerly absorbs. A bright, inquisitive student who hopes to become a doctor when she grows up, she is consistently at the top of her class and has reached an advanced level of speaking and reading English. The reading proficiency is no doubt bolstered by her love of books.

Strong, determined and loving

Education is such a priority in Bibeth’s home that prior to her being sponsored, her parents made the sacrifice of being apart from her so she could go to a good school.

“Bibeth was left at my parent’s house because the school she was attending was nearer to my parents than the place where we were staying,” Chantal said. “Affording transport fees every day for her to come to our place was also very hard for us during those days.”

But now, with sponsorship funds helping ease their financial burden, Bibeth is reunited with her parents and younger brother, Nolan. She’s also enrolled at a closer school, one with a higher academic standing more suited to her abilities.

Another benefit of the family being reunited is that Bibeth can draw daily inspiration from her parents’ example.

“My mom, she had me when she was [a teenager],” Bibeth said. “She was so young and people said, ‘Look at that woman.’ [But] she still was powerful. … She [would] still go to school.”

Bibeth also admires her father, who, up until the pandemic, coached at a local soccer academy but now earns a living doing electrical work. From him, Bibeth has learned to stand up to difficulties.

“… When you face a problem, [don’t] be so scared,” she said. “Be powerful. Say that I’m going to face it and live!”

Like other families in the Unbound program, Bibeth’s family doesn’t allow material poverty to define them. Her parents have instilled a sense of worth and confidence in their daughter.

“My family is not poor, is not rich,” Bibeth said. “I can’t explain it, but what I know is my family loves me, and I love them, too. When I am with my mom, dad and my family, I feel so happy!”

Henry Flores, Nickson Ateku, Danika Wolf, Erin Coleman and Oscar Tuch contributed photos and information for this story.